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Clause 10
Establishment of combined region
Mr. Cash: I beg to move amendment No. 46, in
In certain respects, the amendment is important, but it is also interesting. I hope that Committee members at one point or another, through sheer willpower, will bring themselves to say something about at least one provision. However, I see from the fact that the Whip is shaking his head that they have not the slightest intention of doing so. We are keeping well to the programme resolution, and if I restricted my remarks, we would finish in about an hour and a half. However, I am certain that if we were to do that, as the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome would agree, we would not have properly considered the Bill.
The amendment is important for many reasons. Let us imagine that we have a combined region that is called, for the sake of argument, the south-west. As the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome noted, that is the likely suggestion. We do not know for sure, and extensive discussions are needed with the Electoral Commission before we find out. I do not think that a huge battle is going on in the United Kingdom about the issue. There are preferences—both the west midlands and Northern Ireland have made suggestions—but those are matters that we are happy to leave to subsequent discussions and the consultation process. However, I most emphatically would not be happy, for reasons to which I have already referred, if the name of that region, as provided for in the Bill—I think that section 1 of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 specifies the names of the electoral regions—did not have the words ''and Gibraltar'' with the name of whichever region is to be conjoined with Gibraltar.
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I shall put my point in temperate language, because the last thing that I want to do on a matter of such importance is to antagonise the Minister or make it personal. That is far from my thoughts and intentions, so I shall explain my point gently. The people of Gibraltar have been given an opportunity through the Denise Matthews case. They are good honest citizens who now have a chance to take part in elections in a given area. We do not have the faintest idea—or at least, I do not—for whom they will all eventually vote. There will be a candidate, but I do not know whether there will be a Gibraltarian candidate—I should think that that is unlikely. However, within the framework of the electoral system, when the election happens they will have absolutely as much right as you or I over what goes on in their constituencies. They will be citizens like we are, exercising that right.
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Gibraltar is being added into the process in special circumstances, with many constitutional and practical implications. I shall emphasise the practical because constitutional matters, important though they can be in defining parameters, make no sense at all if they are not related to practicalities. I am not interested in constitutional theology, but in a proper, fair and balanced conclusion arising from discussions. That is what constitutional matters should be about, and in that sense this is essentially a constitutional issue, because the people of Gibraltar are real people who ought to be recognised.
To add the words ''and Gibraltar'' to the name will give an opportunity for those people's concerns and the matters relative to their daily lives to be reflected in the elections. Simply to throw them into the pot and then say, ''Right, you're now part of the south-west region'' would be geographical nonsense and rather extraordinary, although I concede that the situation is unusual.
Mr. Mark Hendrick (Preston): As this is such an important constitutional issue, would the hon. Gentleman want to call for a referendum across the whole United Kingdom on it?
Mr. Cash: I am not going to bother to answer that. The important question is whether the Bill gives the people of Gibraltar a reasonable opportunity to have their daily practical lives and interactions reflected when the elections take place. I do not think that anyone with the slightest understanding of the situation could fail to appreciate that point. It is very simple, and concerns the day-to-day lives of those people.
The measure is an important step for those people. Simply to be rolled into a region called the south-west, the west midlands or whatever it might be would make them appear completely unrecognised—I do not like to use the word insulting—and would emphasise my point about what the Government have done. I simply do not agree with their reasons, although I suspect that I know who was behind what they did, which might have had a rather Hispanic connection. We shall see in due course. I may be entirely wrong, but if that were the case, I certainly would not agree with what was done on that and many other related issues.
My point is important. I shall be interested to see how the Minister reacts to it. I do not think that adding ''and Gibraltar'' would be difficult, and it would not only give enormous satisfaction to the people of Gibraltar but would recognise the territoriality of the issue and at the same give an enormous amount of pleasure and satisfaction to people in this country who feel strongly that Gibraltar should be supported.
Mr. Heath: I do not believe that any long, complicated arguments need to be made in support of the amendment. It reflects amendments that I attempted to make to part 1 of the Bill, which the Minister said were premature at that point. I understand her saying that at the time, but such amendments cannot be premature now.
Recognising the existence of Gibraltar in the context of a combined region will be a beneficial
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move. The hon. Member for Stone said that there was not overwhelming competition between the electoral regions to determine which should be chosen for the purpose by the Electoral Commission and recommended to the House, but on Second Reading there appeared to be a spirited application on behalf of Northern Ireland, which is the one area that is excluded by the Bill, and I believe that there were comments from a sedentary position about Scotland as well.
It might be helpful if the Minister would give the reasons for the Government's conclusion that neither Scotland nor Northern Ireland would be appropriate regions for the incorporation of Gibraltar. I can readily see why in the case of Northern Ireland, but I find it slightly more difficult to understand why Scotland could not be considered. Perhaps she would be kind enough to put on the record the Government's reasoning in this instance.
Mr. Rosindell: You will know of my interest in the subject of Gibraltar, Mr. Cook—indeed, it was only a year ago that you and I were there—and you will know the strength of feeling among the British people on the Rock. I hope that hon. Members will try to understand why the people of Gibraltar are so passionate about the Bill.
They are British as we are British. They feel pride in their heritage, history and culture, as our constituents and we do. Yet despite joining the European Union—the European Economic Community, as it was in the early 1970s—at the same time and under the same accession treaty as the United Kingdom, they have been denied the right to speak on issues that affect them. I ask all Members to consider whether they would tolerate their constituents' being denied the democratic right to vote and speak on issues that affect them in the European Parliament or in this place.
I hope that there will be a greater understanding of the passion that is felt among Gibraltarians. My hon. Friend the Member for Stone referred to the recent referendum in Gibraltar. I was there at the time. For the record, I wish to declare an interest, having visited Gibraltar on several occasions as a guest of the Government of Gibraltar.
You will know, Mr. Cook, how determined the people of Gibraltar are to retain their Britishness and their sense of belonging to the United Kingdom. It is good news that at long last the Bill has come before Parliament. Very shortly, the people of Gibraltar will have a vote in European Parliament elections, at least. However, the Minister will acknowledge that the Government have not sought to allow that. It has been forced upon the Government. I do not believe for one moment that the Government would be introducing the Bill had the matter not been resolved by law.
Shamefully, Labour and Conservative Governments have ignored the people of Gibraltar for all this time. It is good news that the Bill is before the House, and the people of Gibraltar will get a vote in European elections. It would add insult to injury if the name of Gibraltar were excluded from the name of the region in which the Rock is to be included. I hope
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that the Minister will consider that vital point of my hon. Friend the Member for Stone. It is very insulting to Gibraltarians that they are being given the vote reluctantly and the name of Gibraltar is not acknowledged in the name of the region.
Of course, Gibraltar is not geographically part of any region in the UK. It is not part of the south-west, London, or Northern Ireland. It is a peninsula attached to Spain. However, it is British, and will be included in European elections in the UK. How can it not be recognised in the name of whichever constituency it may be a part? The name must surely be given prominence and recognition in the Bill. If it is not, the people of Gibraltar will rightly feel hurt. I hope that the Minister will seriously consider the matter.
I know that the Government are reluctant about the Bill, but if they are going to give the people of Gibraltar the right to vote in the elections, let them do that with a good heart. I ask the Government to do it as if they really want to, even though deep down they perhaps did not want to do it in the first place. They should give Gibraltar the recognition the people of the Rock deserve by including the name of Gibraltar in the name of the region that it is included within.
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