Imogen Calderwood
GIBRALTAR residents were left furious after they lost their Lib Dem MEP Sir Graham Watson despite 66% of them voting for him.
The popular politician – a regular visitor to the Rock during his 20 year tenure – was described by the BBC as being ‘one of the highest profile casualties of the European election’.
Now Gibraltar will be supported in Brussels by two UKIP MEPs, two Conservatives, a Labour and a Green MEP along with the rest of the South West region.
It comes after just 4% of the enclave voted for the eurosceptic UKIP party, whose MEP Julia Reid has been accused of racism in the UK.
Reid, a grandmother, who lives in Wiltshire, was forced to suspend her Twitter account this month after allegedly attacking Muslims.
It came after she retweeted a message that said Islam ‘has no place in the UK [and] needs banning’, written by UKIP supporter David Jones.
Meanwhile, the second UKIP representative William Dartmouth – aka the 10th Earl of Dartmouth – has faced accusations of hypocrisy for being ‘fully committed’ to the ‘fight against wind farms’.
His views will fly in the face of Gibraltar’s government, which has worked hard to become more sustainable.
Sunday night’s shock elections have created havoc elsewhere in Europe, after a dramatic lurch to the right.
Eurosceptic and far-right parties have seized ground, in what France’s Prime Minister Francois Hollande referred to as a ‘political earthquake’.
Europe has bizarrely now been left with a European Parliament in which a significant proportion wants its own demise.
In France the anti-immigration National Front stormed to victory – taking 25% of the vote – while in Britain the eurosceptic UKIP, led by Nigel Farage, took 27% of the vote.
Spain however has taken a different course with new leftist anti-austerity parties taking seats from the two leading parties PP and PSOE.
The biggest success was for Podemos – the ‘We Can’ party, which took 8% of the vote and captured five seats, despite only forming three months ago.
Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, 35, who has been very critical of Germany for its austerity-led response to Europe’s financial crisis, said the result was ‘not symbolic’.
“We will not stop here. Today, in spite of our results, there will still be six million people out of work and bankers who go unpunished. We will not stop until we beat both big parties.”
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s PP party took 16 seats, followed by the PSOE who took 14.
PSOE’s defeat has led to the resignation of party leader Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, former deputy to Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
in a democracy people have a right to decide there own future and for years Politicians like the LD have said we have no choice we stay in Europe no matter whaT
tHE cONSERVATIVES we will have a ref but they keep promising it in the future
Labour went potty no immigration controls /acted against what most of there surporters thought they had voted for
people in the UK and across Europe want a traDE AGREEMENT with easy cross boarder movement for jobs not political union
Nothing new, Gibraltar had two UKIP MEP’s before and has two now. Despite being personally popular in Gib, the LibDems are yesterdays news in Britain and their policy of a more federal Europe deeply unpopular with people who saw Europe as a trade organisation not a means of transferring control to Brussels and giving British money to corrupt Greek and Spanish politicians.
If anyone reading this voted for UKIP, you’ve been tricked, fooled, hoodwinked, deceived, ensnared, outwitted…
…choose whichever word you like and be ashamed of yourselves!
Choose a word, umm, OK, clever.
Great to see the back of this pompous Lib Dem ,with more to follow in 2015,they have been rumbled in the UK,and Milliband is next saying the same pro EEC rubbish as Clegg and not having the courage to offer a referendum.
Gibraltarians can relax safe in the knowledge that UKIP
will strengthen the defence of the Rock and reclaim the biggest fishing grounds in the EEC for British fishermen.
Yes Jonathan, they will probably make the trains run on time while keeping all those pesky foreigners out too.
Rest easy in Gibraltar, Father Farage will keep you safe behind your new barricades.
Rob,
sorry to burst your balloon but it is just those cross border trade and labour agreements that people across Europe voted against.
The only reason that so many voted for the National/Right parties is because they are the only parties to voice most peoples’ opinions and fears.
Almost invariably it is those whose jobs are not threatened or indeed already lost that are in favour of mass immigration – I’m alright Jack, how is it for you, not so good – tough.
What so many ordinary people thought they were voting for was a European Community – they got scammed and now they know it – be careful politicians, the tumbrels are having their wheels oiled right now.