Friday, November 8, 2013

Yes... and?

You can always rely on the Lib Dems to come up with some entertaining if useless/pointless defence of the EU, the Human Rights Act, taxation, envirolooniism, defence, sex, politics etc. The list being somewhat endless and meaningless and is merely a demonstration of how out of touch with the general public/reality they are...
Still, this one's a corker...
Telegraph.
Gibraltar could be expelled from the European Union against its wishes because of David Cameron’s desire to hold a referendum, a Liberal Democrat MP has warned.
Martin Horwood, the MP for Cheltenham, said that a private member’s bill setting out demands for a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union by 2017 could mean that Gibraltar is forced to leave the EU.
He said that when the European Union (Referendum) Bill was initially drafted, voters in Gibraltar were excluded from any poll, despite being able to participate as part of the South West of England constituency in European elections. James Wharton, the Tory MP for Stockton South who is bringing forward the legislation, has now introduced an amendment which will include Gibraltar in any referendum after the omission was spotted when the Bill was in committee. Mr Horwood, who sat on the committee which analysed the Bill after second reading, warned that the people of Gibraltar may choose to remain in the EU and then be forced to leave.
It appears that Mr Horwood has failed to recognise that democracy is the dictatorship of the majority of one. Essentially, Gibraltar, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and indeed England are all in exactly the same boat, same with the Channel Isles too I presume. It may be that any such referendum of  our membership of the EU may produce a result that the majority of people in a country disagree with. But that's the joy of our current democracy, the majority rules, though admittedly only in the case of England there may be a problem with the lack of democracy therein whereby the Parliaments/Assemblies of the other places can go it alone and leave the UK and overseas territories if enough of their people want and vote in a government of their own to do so, the people of England have no such recourse save only violent overthrow of the government at the moment as they have no parliament of their own.
So, that's the price Gibraltar will pay for being part of the UK if we leave the EU, so do they, of course they can leave the UK and apply for membership of the EU if they so desire.
That however is their problem should such an occurrence happen and they wish to remain part of the EU, not ours...

3 annotations:

SteveA said...

I suspect it's more likely Gibraltar will vote to leave but will have to remain in because the reset of the UK will vote to stay

Anonymous said...

The EU is the political bit with a customs union thrown in. If the UK, plus Gib' were to leave the EU but retain European Economic Area (EEA) membership, we could still trade with the EU as before. In fact, I think it would be even better for Gib' as they share a land boarder, same too with Ulster.

Leaving the EU should not worry us. It is about governance, not trade and we can still trade from within the EEA.

Jonty said...

Remember we buy more from the EU than they buy from us, so would they refuse to trade with us?