issue 13... unlucky for some, but not the olive press (we hope) the
GIBRALTAR
The only investigative local newspaper
olive press Mum’s the word
Vol. 1 Issue 13
www.gibraltarolivepress.com
March 2nd - March 15th 2016
FREE
And on the subject of weddings...
To celebrate Mother’s Day, the Olive Press meets THE Mum on the Rock Page 11
Marathon man Soldier who won Gibraltar half marathon sets his sights on reaching London
The man who photographed John Lennon’s Gibraltar wedding pleas for help to find the ‘missing’ originals. See Page 3
Don’t miss our eight-page marriage special! Pages 13-20
Brexit battle Page 31
EXCLUSIVE By Tom Powell
A GROUP of Gibraltar’s staunchest political allies have backed the Brexit campaign, despite the Rock’s overriding fears. It comes despite the UK’s Europe minister David Lidington warning that British rights to live in Spain ‘would be up in the air’ if the UK voted to leave the EU on June 23. He added that it could lead to ‘a decade of economic chaos’ an argument backed up by leaders at the G20 summit this weekend in Shanghai. But British MPs Andrew Rosindell and Ian Paisley, who both delivered passionate speeches last National Day affirming the UK’s continued
Major blow for Rock as political allies announce support for Brexit, which Europe Minister says would spell disaster
support for the Rock, remain unmoved. Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford, told the Olive Press: “The problem is that just as Gibraltar has the right
AT WAR: Picardo and Rosindell (on National Day) of self-determination, so should the United Kingdom. “I ask the good people of Gibraltar to think about where Britain will be in 20 or 30 years’ time if we stay on the train towards a European
Super State, which is surely coming. “If there is no longer a sovereign United Kingdom, there will not be UK Overseas Territories and I believe the EU will eventually insist that places like Gibraltar are fully integrated into this new state.” Rosindell is backed by Conservative MP Jack Lopresti, the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gi-
braltar, as well as the group’s president, Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle. Their views are in complete contrast to those of First Minister Fabian Picardo and the GSLP government, who are supporting David Cameron’s ‘stay’ campaign. “There is no reasonable alternative for Gibraltar to the certainty of membership of the EU via our relationship with the UK,” said Picardo.
On the out or in? IN 2015 the UK government paid £13 billion to the EU budget, while EU spending on the UK was £4.5 billion. This means that the total cost of being a member of the EU is around 8.5 billion, out of an annual British expenditure of an around 700 billion. The question of economic benefits of EU membership - trade, jobs, investment etc - is far trickier to determine. What is clear is that David Cameron has been attempting to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU on issues such as migrants and welfare, but many politicians and commentators claim he has made little progress. An analysis of the six most recent polls suggests 45% of voters want to leave the EU, while 55% will vote to remain.
“Even with all its faults, the EU has been an important driver of the prosperity we enjoy in Gibraltar today. “We cannot give up the access and benefits we have without any certainty as to what the status of those rights of freedom of movement and market access might be if the UK were not a member of the EU.” Meanwhile, the Cabinet Office has published a report on the ‘major impact’ a Brexit would have on Gibraltar. “If the UK were to leave the EU, there would be no guarantee that the border would remain open,” the report said. Likewise, a spokesman for the British Embassy in Madrid told the Olive Press: “Leaving would likely have many serious implications and no one yet knows the extent of them. “As the Prime Minister has said, it would mean years of uncertainty.”