AFP photo
By
Hazel Speed
Apparently, Mrs May, it is being said, made a major mistake is not referring to Gibraltar within her Article 50 letter to the EU.
Now Spain, as a Member Country of the EU, is seizing on this as an opportunity to make a further claim against the UK for them to have Sovereignty of ‘Gib’ – the affectionate UK term for Gibraltar.
The irony, Spain wants Gibraltar which is not up for sale, whilst they are repelling advances from Scotland.
Mrs May has referred to Gibraltar within Parliament thereby putting on record – ‘hands off’ – to those who have an unhealthy curiosity in that regard.
‘Hell will freeze over’ before the UK relinquishes Sovereignty, and neither will the UK inhabitants of Gibraltar be hung out to dry.
Those who have raised voices over the rights of EU Citizens resident in the UK, but not so much vice versa, (more to their shame), will no doubt not care about the Brits resident within Gibraltar, in fact they may welcome this development, as they seek anything to overturn democracy in the UK.
Mrs May could hardly refer to every area of Sovereignty in the Brexit/Article 50 Letter (nor should there be need), as after all, Her Majesty The Queen is Head of the Family of Commonwealth Nations as well as various Dominions and Dependencies throughout the world – which Royal Straight Flush beats any other poker-styled hand the EU may try to present.
For my money, Mrs May would not have made an error of this kind, as I am sure only too well that she is more than aware of the saying “when one sups or eats with the devil, be sure to use a long spoon!”
Hazel Speed
Photo (c) Hazel Speed – used by kind permision to Tuck Magazine
This article does leave me with a number of questions. Gibraltar, as I understand it, is a colony of Britain. Ok, let us use the euphemism dependency, rather than colony. Overseas dependencies do not actually have sovereignty, in the classic national sense of the term. To take a similar example, Lord Howe Island is an overseas territory of Australia. It does not have any actually sovereignty separate from that enshrined in Australian law. Former Tory leader Michael Howard shamelessly and provocatively invoked the militarist legacy of the Malvinas war to stoke tensions with Spain. We remember that the former Argentinian junta was reckless and cruel, but remember that Spain is itself a former imperial power and member of NATO. It is all well and good, for Prime Minister May to offer to 'defend' the sovereignty of Gibraltar's residents. However, as I understand it, Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union. Should not their democratic decision be respected? These kinds of ridiculous threats by the UK government to send gunboats not only indicates outdated thinking, but also reflects the character of Brexit. Leaving the European Union is all well and good - but it is not an exercise in imperial delusions of grandeur. Brexit should not be about Britain attempting to recapture its imperial glory days - because there were no glory days, but only vicious and calculating violence in the quest to construct an empire. The future of Brexit is up to the British people to decide - it is not an exercise in reviving imperialistic fantasies.