GibViews

Does Britain really want to be relieved of the stigma of Empire Days?

What will Brexit mean for Britain’s fourteen overseas territories; the home of 250,000 Britons? They are seen as remnants of the British Empire that have not been granted independence or have voted to remain British. One thing that comes across very clearly, which takes first place before any other necessity, is the issue of EU funding and the dependence of most of the Overseas Territories on it.  Read more

The aspirations and struggles of a people

Leafing through one of our excellent local glossy magazines, I noted that the author of an article; written around a young, experienced entrepreneur who has done the rounds in London; had suggested to him that he might like to come to Gibraltar and inspire us with his ideas.  Read more

No Postcode Envy

by KEN WESTMORELAND

There’s a line in the song ‘Royals’ by Lorde, which goes: ‘And I’m not proud of my address, in a torn up town, no postcode envy.’ Despite sounding American, she’s from New Zealand, which has ‘postcodes’, not ‘zip codes’ as in the US. ‘ZIP’ was an acronym for ‘Zone Improvement Plan’, or as Elvis once sang: ‘Return to sender, address unknown, no such number, no such zone’.  Read more

The country we have to deal with

When a Spanish Politician is pushed into a corner, he resorts to accusations and verbal abuse. His arrogance and the lack of plasticity of his beliefs, will not allow him to engage with someone who has different views to his i.e. those of the country he represents. To him this might appear as sacrilegious. Sr Borell in a TV interview not only accused his interviewer of being an ignoramus, but told him that next time, he was to ask him the right questions! The man is not after an interview, but a monologue.  Read more

Belize: A Vote for Russian Roulette?

by KEN WESTMORELAND

Years ago, I remarked to a Gibraltarian, ‘Spain lays claim to Gibraltar, Argentina the Falkland Islands, Guatemala Belize, what is it with Spanish-speaking countries?’ to which he replied, ‘I think you mean: “What is it with fascists?”’ I wouldn’t brand them as ‘fascists’, but rather as ‘Hispano-irredentists’, all hankering after long lost territory, if it were theirs to lose.  Read more

Today’s reality

Let’s stop kidding ourselves and face the reality of today‘s society. The claim that foreigners from across the way are taking away jobs from the locals has to be a myth. We are all aware that one of the EU rules was that workers from member states had to be employed locally; whilst I believe the general consensus was that that the jobs should first be offered to locals. Now that we are leaving Europe perhaps we won’t have to adhere to their rules any longer, but nevertheless and despite this, nothing will change much on the work front.  Read more

Bring back the Sterling Area – a British revival?

Opinion - by SIR ANDREW COOK

With more than two years of largely futile in-fighting, agonising and speculating behind it, Britain is set to leave the European Union in two weeks’ time. Those who encouraged this look on uneasily. Recklessly and with false promises, they uncorked the bottle and released the Brexit genie. Meanwhile, the Remainers prepare to flee or brace themselves to face a future at best uncertain, at worst catastrophic.   Read more

THE END OF A STRANGE PAIRING

By KEN WESTMORELAND

In 2014, I voted in elections to the European Parliament as a voter in the South West England constituency, which had included Gibraltar for the past ten years. It was touching to see a familiar name, that of Lyana Armstrong-Emery, on the ballot paper, the only candidate from Gibraltar on a party list, though also surreal, given how little others in the region knew of it, or her.  Read more