Gibraltar Conservatives | |
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Headquarters | P.O.Box 419 Suite 16 |
Ideology | |
Political position | Centre-right |
National affiliation | Conservative Party |
European affiliation | Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists |
European Parliament group | European Conservatives and Reformists |
International affiliation | International Democrat Union |
Colours | Blue |
Local affiliation | Gibraltar Social Democrats |
Website | |
Official site | |
The Conservative Party in Gibraltar is the part of the Conservative Party that operates in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is a branch of the South West Region of the Conservative Party. The party does not field candidates in the local elections in the territory, and so far has only ever stood candidates for the European Parliament constituency of South West England and Gibraltar.
History
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Gib_mh04.jpg)
Gibraltar was first represented in European Elections in 2004 as part of the South West England constituency. None of the main Gibraltar political parties ever contested European elections, so voters chose from United Kingdom party lists. The Gibraltar Social Democrats have however endorsed the Conservatives in European and UK Parliamentary elections.[1][2]
2004
[edit]The Conservative Party polled over two-thirds of the Gibraltar vote, with no other party exceeding 10% support. This was to a large part due to the perception that the Labour Government in Britain had "betrayed" Gibraltar by attempting to negotiate a constitutional settlement involving joint sovereignty with Spain.[3] This arrangement was rejected overwhelmingly by Gibraltarians in the 2002 sovereignty referendum. The Conservatives were perceived as being unequivocal in their support for Gibraltar's continued British status. In addition both the leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, and his deputy, Michael Ancram, flew in to rally support. Before the election the local Conservatives mounted a vigorous campaign.
2009
[edit]The Conservatives won with 51% of the votes.[4]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Gibraltar_National_Day_022_%289719751118%29_%283%29.jpg/200px-Gibraltar_National_Day_022_%289719751118%29_%283%29.jpg)
2014
[edit]On the previous two occasions Gibraltar has participated in European elections, the Conservative Party had topped the poll. The Liberal Democrats won the popular vote in the territory for the first time.[5]
2019
[edit]Consistent with the poor performance of the Conservatives throughout the UK in the 2019 election, the party received just 2.7% of the votes in Gibraltar, moving into fifth place with the Liberal Democrats and the Brexit Party taking the first and second places in the election. Incumbent MEP Ashley Fox lost his seat.[6]
Electoral performance
[edit]The below table lists performance in European Parliamentary elections.
Year | Votes (Gib.) | Votes (SW Eng) | % (Gib.) | % (SW Eng) | Change (SW Eng) | Seats | Position |
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2004 | 8,297 | 457,371 | 69.52 | 31.6 | -10.1 | 3 | 1 |
2009 | 3,721 | 468,742 | 53.30 | 30.2 | -1.3 | 3 | 1 |
2014 | 1,236 | 433,151 | 17.2 | 28.9 | -1.4 | 2 | 2 |
2019 | 256 | 144,674 | 2.7 | 8.71 | -20.19 | 0 | 5 |
MEPs
[edit]Former Conservative MEPs for Gibraltar | Caroline Jackson Conservative 2004-2009[a] |
Neil Parish Conservative 2004-2009[b] |
Giles Chichester Conservative 2004-2014[c] |
Julie Girling Conservative 2009-2017[d] |
Ashley Fox Conservative 2009-2019 |
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See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "May 08 - GSD Welcomes Tory Win And Repeats Call For Unity Ahead Of Possible EU Referendum". yourgibraltartv.com. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "PARTY LEADERS ON EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 19.05.14". YouTube.
- ^ Wilkinson, Isambard (18 May 2004). "The Tories won't let you down, Howard tells Gibraltar". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
- ^ Reyes, Brian (8 June 2009). "LANDSLIDE FOR TORIES DISAPPOINTMENT FOR LABOUR". Gibraltar Chronicle. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
- ^ "Gibraltar Parliament General Election". Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ Gibraltar voteschronicle.gi May 2019 Archived 27 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine