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Voluntary Personal Security Cards
Mr. David Amess accordingly presented a Bill to provide for a system of voluntary personal security cards; and for connected purposes: And the same was read the First time; and ordered to be read a Second time on Friday 6 March, and to be printed [Bill 126].
European Parliamentary Elections Bill
Sir Brian Mawhinney (North-West Cambridgeshire): I beg to move amendment No. 46, in page 1, line 8, after 'Kingdom', insert 'and Gibraltar'.
The Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means (Mr. Michael Lord): With this, it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments: No. 7, in page 1, line 9, at end insert--
'1A. For the purposes of this Act, the United Kingdom includes Gibraltar.'.
No. 47, in page 1, line 9, at end insert--
No. 57, in schedule 1, page 5, line 44, at end insert--
No. 45, in page 6, line 25, after 'London', insert 'and Gibraltar'.
No. 8, in page 6, line 26, after 'London' insert 'and Gibraltar'.
Sir Brian Mawhinney:
Gibraltar has been a subject of debate, interest and importance to this country for at least 300 years. British possession took place in 1704 and was ratified by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Ever since, Spain has wanted it back.
I am aware that it is not in order to give a history of British-Spanish relations as they relate to Gibraltar, and I shall not do so for two reasons: first, I do not want to incur your ire, Mr. Lord; and, secondly, I do not want to create the impression that I am seeking to spin out the debate, as that is not our intention. We shall address the issues, but not filibuster, even though we have serious differences with the principles at the heart of the Bill.
Over the centuries, Spain has tried in a number of ways and with varying degrees of aggression to reclaim Gibraltar. That has constituted a problem for successive British Governments, who have attached importance not only to friendly relations with Spain but to Gibraltar's position.
In 1967, Mrs. Judith Hart, speaking for the then British Government, made it clear that there would be no change in control of Gibraltar without the freely expressed wishes of its inhabitants. That is reinforced by article 73 of the United Nations charter, which states that no decolonisation of any territory will take place unless the inhabitants of that territory agree: the inhabitants' wishes are paramount.
All hon. Members, from whatever party, will recognise that Spain has embarked on a long game to try to reclaim Gibraltar. There have been border incidents and Spain has exerted a variety of pressures, including on airline services.
It is worth reminding ourselves at the start of this debate that Gibraltar joined the European Community in 1973 with the United Kingdom--incidentally, that was 13 years before Spain joined. However, no one specifically looks after Gibraltar's interests in the European Union; British Ministers, of course, have a general oversight, but no specific responsibility.
The question we must ask is why the 30,000 inhabitants of Gibraltar are the only people in a Union of 400 million who are not allowed to vote in European elections. If there were an enclave in this country of British citizens who did not have the right to vote for a representative in the House of Commons, there would be much agitation among Labour Members to right what would be seen as a palpable wrong.
I am the first to recognise--as did the Labour Government in the late 1970s--that there were difficulties in accommodating Gibraltar in the system for direct elections that we chose in 1979. That system was based on parliamentary constituencies; the European constituencies were formed by bringing together a number of parliamentary constituencies.
The then Conservative Opposition did not take great exception to the exclusion of Gibraltar, as we recognised the difficulties, and, during the 18 years when Labour was in opposition, Labour Members did not go on about the matter. What is exciting is that the Government have decided--we believe wrongly, although we recognise that the Bill received its Second Reading with the express will of the House--to rip up the system that stood us in good stead for 20 years and introduce a new system which, because it is not based on parliamentary constituencies, gives us the opportunity, for the first time, to right the wrong.
The Government's position was set out by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Baroness Symons, who said in another place:
Mr. Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock):
With the greatest respect to the shadow Home Secretary, the issue is much narrower. The provision should relate exclusively to Gibraltar for one reason: Gibraltar is in the European Union, and the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not. I would ask the Committee to concentrate exclusively
Sir Brian Mawhinney:
I entirely agree. The rest of my case concerns the uniqueness of Gibraltar. I was quoting a Foreign Office Minister in another place. It was she, not I, who widened the issue to include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
I was saying that, if the Government chose to accept our amendment and then, in sympathy with what the noble Baroness said, decided to table amendments to incorporate the other two jurisdictions, we would be willing to support them. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his courtesy. However, I know that the Government will not do that, because they are strangely reticent about anything relating to the Channel Islands, given the embarrassment that they have already suffered.
Let me focus the Committee's attention on Gibraltar. Gibraltar is an integral part of the European Union; if anyone doubts that, I refer him or her to article 227(4) of the treaty of Rome. As I have said, although Gibraltar is an integral part of the European Union, it is the only member state that does not have a vote.
I wondered whether that was true of other dependent territories and whether perhaps there was some quirk in the treaty of Rome denying dependent territories a vote, and I am indebted to the House of Commons Library for providing me with the information. I turned first to France. I found that French dependent territories fell into two categories. I cannot explain to the Committee why, so I hope that nobody will ask me that question.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Jack Straw):
The two categories in France are known as the DOM and the TOM.
Sir Brian Mawhinney:
We are deeply grateful to the Home Secretary for that penetrating insight. I guess that that is his bid to be associated with the DOM, not having been invited to the celebrations this morning.
France divides its overseas dependent territories into two groups. The first is the French overseas department. Guadeloupe elects its own MEP. It is not absorbed into another region of France and expected to vote for the MEP representing that region. The second group is known as the French overseas collectivite, including Mayotte and St. Pierre and Miquelon. Those territories, too, elect a separate MEP. Not only do French dependent territories have a vote, but they elect their own MEPs.
I turned to Spain and discovered that Spanish dependent territories in north Africa, such as Ceuta and Melilla, also elect their own MEP. We are left wondering, therefore, why only Britain's dependent territories appear not to have a vote for representation in the European Parliament.
France and Spain have extra MEPs representing their dependent territories which are not absorbed into continental France or Spain. Those are extra seats. Our amendment does not go that far. We are proposing not that Gibraltar should be treated as a separate region, but simply that it should be bound to the United Kingdom system.
Let me make it clear that the official Opposition are happy to support the amendment in the names of my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Mr. Gill), my right hon. Friend the Member for Strangford (Mr. Taylor) and the hon. Member for Thurrock (Mr. Mackinlay). We agree that the London region is the appropriate place to include Gibraltar. Had those right hon. and hon. Members not tabled their amendment, we would have tabled one to that effect.
The consideration of the Bill in Committee provides the House with a new opportunity to remedy a long-standing democratic deficit. The issue is becoming increasingly pressing. In Gibraltar, the feeling of injustice is heightened as Gibraltar becomes more than a trading area and seeks a more independent voice in the international community.
The Government have also heightened the pressure by their agreement to the Amsterdam treaty. The Amsterdam treaty greatly enhanced the co-decision-making role of the European Parliament. It is no great secret that we would not have taken that route, but the Government did. They acceded to the granting of new powers to the European Parliament. In other words, the Amsterdam treaty gave the European Parliament a more extensive role in the process of legislation that Gibraltar is required to put into its law and, subsequently, to implement. However, it does not allow Gibraltar any say in the formulation of that legislation. It echoes the sentiments of "no taxation without representation". It is almost saying, "No legislation without representation."
The time has come to enfranchise Gibraltar. We have a new system. We do not like it and we think that the Government will regret it. When it dawns on the British people exactly what the Government are doing in this legislation, the Government's popularity will take a beating, and I view that with equanimity. I can force myself to sleep at night with that prospect.
I am not sure that there is not a devious, Machiavellian plot by the Home Secretary, who has honourably, repeatedly and--I hope that I do not embarrass him--with increasing enthusiasm made it clear that he does not believe in proportional representation. I wonder why his fingers are across the Bill. I had a smidgen of a thought that perhaps the public reaction some time next year will be such that he will be able to safeguard the House from the ravages of Lord Jenkins and his machinations on behalf of the secret Lib-Lab pact, the nature of which is becoming increasingly apparent.
The Government are destroying all the links with the old constituencies and putting new regions in place. There is an opportunity to allow Gibraltarians--as part of the London region--to help elect members who would have a direct democratic responsibility for the Rock and the people who live on it. The Government cannot argue that they cannot handle the numbers. In my part of the country we are promised a region with 4 million voters. What sense of ownership they will have of their MEPs, or the MEPs will have of the eastern region, defies my ability to understand. Of the 30,000 who are resident on the Rock, my understanding is that perhaps only 18,000 would be eligible to vote. Those 18,000 have been denied the franchise. There can be no argument that the numbers will
be destabilising. A 1985 European Parliament research paper suggested that Gibraltar could be added to the electoral roll in a United Kingdom constituency.
The old system was difficult. The proposed new--but deeply flawed--system provides us with an opportunity. The Government will tell us that Spain will not like it. That will cut no ice with the Conservatives and, I suspect, precious little ice with Labour Members. If the Government are prepared to deny voting rights to 18,000 Gibraltarians because Spain will not like it, the Minister should get up, look the world in the eye and say so. We shall all draw our own conclusions.
Baroness Symons said that giving voting rights to Gibraltar would be possible only with unanimous agreement in the Council of Ministers. Of course we believe that a good relationship with Spain is important. However, the Conservatives believe that the relationship between Gibraltar and this country is also important. Gibraltar is part of the United Kingdom. Spanish dependent territories have a vote and representation in an additional seat. We are not asking for that.
We know that the Government are already tentative in their relations with Spain. I happened on a report of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of 4 and 5 December last year. It says:
For the sake of the nation, eschewing partisan advantage, we do not want the Government, who are already becoming known as soft on crime, to be thought of as soft on democracy as well. The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson), said in an answer on 9 December that the Foreign Office was keeping the issue under review. Now is the time to end the review. Now is the time to put up or shut up.
The new Labour Government tell us that they are creating a new Britain, a new Europe, a new world and a new millennium, that they are making new friends in Europe, have new influence in Europe and have the presidency to boot. Let us have a small test of all that newness--all that new influence, all that new power, all that new persuasive charm, all that new democracy, all that "let the people decide" attitude, all that determination to put the people first, foremost and always. What about the people of Gibraltar?
'1A. Wherever the words United Kingdom appear in this Act they shall be deemed to include Gibraltar.'.
'(e) the register of electors in Gibraltar.'.
"The noble Lord, Lord Bethell, and the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, raised questions about voting rights in Gibraltar in the European Parliament elections. Gibraltar's lack of representation in the European Parliament results from Annex II of the 1976 EC Act on direct elections. The affect of Annex II on the 1976 Act is to restrict the application of the Act to the UK itself, to the exclusion of other UK territories such as Gibraltar, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, to which the EC treaty apply in part. Amending Annex II would require the unanimous agreement of all EU member states. However, the Government are aware of the strength of feeling in Gibraltar on that issue."--[Official Report, House of Lords, 26 November 1997; Vol. 583, c. 1058.]
If the Home Secretary is minded to accept our amendment this evening, I have no doubt that on Report he will want to move further amendments to include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. I give him an undertaking now that, if he does that, the Opposition will support him.
4.45 pm
"The Spanish delegation blocked three decisions which were ripe for agreement, over the status of Gibraltar. One decision concerned a proposed joint action for the creation of a European legal contact network. Spain, which does not recognise the independence or the autonomy of Gibraltar, did not want the British Government to appoint a magistrate or prosecutor to Gibraltar. To mollify the Spaniards, the Presidency asked all the Member States to notify their contact points--judiciary authorities and magistrates specialising in the fight against large-scale crime--to the Secretary General of the Council, so that this joint action could be implemented immediately once adopted at a future session. The UK delegation announced that it did not plan to create a contact point on Gibraltar."
The Government have already proved pretty weak on relations with Spain over Gibraltar when push comes to shove.
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