‘Keep it simple’ on Brexit, GSD says

Gibraltar should keep its Brexit strategy “as simple as possible” instead of chasing “whimsical” schemes that risked losing support in the UK, the GSD said yesterday.

The Opposition was reacting after Prime Minister Theresa May said her priority in negotiations with the EU would be to obtain the maximum possible access to the Single Market, a statement which the GSD welcomed.

The Opposition said Gibraltar should ensure it was “speaking to the right people” and doing everything possible to ensure the Rock is also included in that potential deal.

It said this was particularly important given that the British Government had told the devolved administrations that they cannot expect to negotiate different or separate deals with the EU.

“The best strategy is inevitably the least complex, though that is not to say it would be easy to achieve,” said Trevor Hammond, GSD European spokesman.

“What Gibraltar needs is continued access to the UK market, access to the European Single Market and ideally, an assurance that we will be included in any future global trade deals agreed by the United Kingdom.”

“We must also strive for continued free movement across our frontier.”

“We need to set our stall out and focus on achieving these aspirations without muddying the waters and potentially losing friends in Westminster by pursuing whimsical schemes which the British Government clearly has no interest in following.”

“It has been said repeatedly by the Prime Minister that there will be no second referendum and any calls for a second referendum from Gibraltar or criticisms of Brexiteers simply risks alienating the very people whose support we need to ensure we are not excluded from any deal reached by the UK with the EU."