Reform UK MP Andrew Rosindell has praised Gibraltar’s sense of British identity as the territory marks its annual National Day celebrations today.
Thousands gathered in Casemates Square, with streets decked in red-and-white bunting and Gibraltar and British flags, to commemorate the 1967 sovereignty referendum.
In that vote, 99.6% of Gibraltarians chose to remain under British sovereignty rather than pass to Spanish rule.
Rosindell, who was in Gibraltar as part of a delegation of MPs, praised National Day as “a celebration of Gibraltar’s British identity. It dates back to 1967, when the people of the Rock voted to stay British, and they have maintained that position all the way through.”
“They never want to be Spanish. They want to stay under the British Crown. And I’m here today to give them my full endorsement and support as a great British territory and part of our wider British family.”
Rosindell contrasted the unabashed patriotism on display in Gibraltar with a reluctance in some parts of Britain to celebrate the national flag.
“We hear ‘God Save the King’, of course, and the Gibraltar anthem. We see flags everywhere”, he said. “There is no political correctness or wokeism going on in Gibraltar. They know that their identity is British and they fly the flag with pride.”
“It is a great shame that so many other councils in the UK are not the same as that and refuse to fly the flag. But here, there is none of that. They know they are British and they are proud of it.”
In answer to media questions, Rosindell made clear that Reform UK is “very sceptical” about the new UK-EU agreement which would remove physical border checks at the Spanish border, but introduce joint Gibraltar-Spanish passport checks at the airport and port, while tying Gibraltar more closely to EU customs and tax rules.
Thousands gathered in Casemates Square, with streets decked in red-and-white bunting and Gibraltar and British flags, to commemorate the 1967 sovereignty referendum.
In that vote, 99.6% of Gibraltarians chose to remain under British sovereignty rather than pass to Spanish rule.
Rosindell, who was in Gibraltar as part of a delegation of MPs, praised National Day as “a celebration of Gibraltar’s British identity. It dates back to 1967, when the people of the Rock voted to stay British, and they have maintained that position all the way through.”
“They never want to be Spanish. They want to stay under the British Crown. And I’m here today to give them my full endorsement and support as a great British territory and part of our wider British family.”
Rosindell contrasted the unabashed patriotism on display in Gibraltar with a reluctance in some parts of Britain to celebrate the national flag.
“We hear ‘God Save the King’, of course, and the Gibraltar anthem. We see flags everywhere”, he said. “There is no political correctness or wokeism going on in Gibraltar. They know that their identity is British and they fly the flag with pride.”
“It is a great shame that so many other councils in the UK are not the same as that and refuse to fly the flag. But here, there is none of that. They know they are British and they are proud of it.”
In answer to media questions, Rosindell made clear that Reform UK is “very sceptical” about the new UK-EU agreement which would remove physical border checks at the Spanish border, but introduce joint Gibraltar-Spanish passport checks at the airport and port, while tying Gibraltar more closely to EU customs and tax rules.
