Caruana: masterminded Gibraltar referendum

Gibraltar will be combined with the South West region for elections to the European parliament, it was announced on Thursday.

Combining "the rock" with an English region is likely to make for interesting electoral arithmetic.

Some have predicted the Gibraltarian parties may enter into an unofficial pact with the Conservatives in order to achieve some formal representation in Brussels.

The move follows a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in 1999.

That found the British government to be in breach of its legal obligations in failing to allow Gibraltarians to vote or stand in European elections.

Gibraltar has too few voters to create a separate region.

A two-month consultation in Gibraltar and the UK confirmed support for links with the South West.

As well as historical and maritime links, many respondents felt that MEPs representing the South West's diverse communities and interests would be best placed to take on board the distinct concerns of Gibraltar.

There was broad support amongst Gibraltar's political leaders for joining the South West, and all but one of the region's current MEPs actively promoted the addition of Gibraltar.

"Our priority has always been to ensure the most effective representation of the people of Gibraltar," said commission chairman Sam Younger.

"We believe that combination with the South West best satisfies this condition and will be broadly welcomed by people in Gibraltar and in the region."

Conservatives welcomed the announcement, calling on Gibraltarians to give Labour "a bloody nose" at the forthcoming elections.

"We welcome Gibraltar being linked with the South West," said shadow attorney general Bill Cash.

"Gibraltar needs to retain its distinct identity and this will be best achieved by being included in an area which has strong local distinctions within it. The area has also the longest coastline of any part of England and has maritime port and defence interests which link in with the interests of Gibraltar.

"I now encourage the residents of Gibraltar to show their disdain for Labour's plans to weaken Gibraltar's sovereignty, by giving Labour a bloody nose and voting Conservative in next year's European elections. Only Conservatives are consistent in believing that Gibraltar is British and should remain British."

Spain had fought moves to allow the territory to send an MEP to Brussels.

The announcement comes as talks between the British and Spanish governments about the future of Gibraltar are mothballed.

Gibraltarian leader Peter Caruana mounted a strong campaign against any change to the status quo.

The people of Gibraltar effectively scuppered the talks last year when they voted by a huge majority against any moves towards joint sovereignty.

Since then foreign secretary Jack Straw has backed away from the "Brussels process".

Straw had initially hoped to be able to sell the long-standing "two flags, three voices" formula to residents of the territory.