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Political party of Gibraltar
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
[
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]
Michael Howard
, then Conservative leader, addressing voters outside the Gibraltar House of Assembly (now the
Gibraltar Parliament
) for the
2004 European Election.
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
[
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]
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
[
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]
The Conservatives won with 51% of the votes.
[4]
David Cameron speaking at the Gibraltar National Day by video link in 2013.
2014
[
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]
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
[
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]
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
[
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]
The below table lists performance in European Parliamentary elections.
Year
|
Votes (Gib.)
|
Votes (SW Eng)
|
% (Gib.)
|
% (SW Eng)
|
Change (SW Eng)
|
Seats
|
Position
|
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
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]
Former Conservative MEP, Ashley Fox
See also
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Notes
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]
- ^
Was an MEP since 1984, prior to Gibraltar's inclusion in the elections
- ^
Was an MEP since 1999, prior to Gibraltar's inclusion in the elections
- ^
Was an MEP since 1994, prior to Gibraltar's inclusion in the elections
- ^
Was an MEP until 2019, suspended for voting against the party whip
References
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]
External links
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]
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Party structure
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Professional
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Voluntary
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Parliamentary
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Conference
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Subnational
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Directly elected city mayoral authorities
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Local
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Other
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Associated organisations
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List
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Sectional groups
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Factional groups
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Politicians
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