Gibraltar Treaty

Charlie Dewhirst Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

As the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North and the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Gibraltar, I welcome this statement and place on record my strong support for the ratification of the treaty. This agreement represents a practical, well balanced and forward-looking settlement for Gibraltar, the United Kingdom and our European partners. Crucially, the deal has the clear backing of the Government and the people of Gibraltar, and that point should carry significant weight across this House. We should be guided not by abstract political positioning, but by the lived reality of the community whose prosperity and security are directly affected. The treaty protects United Kingdom’s red lines. Sovereignty remains unchanged and was never in question. British jurisdiction is respected and Gibraltar—

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlingto and the Wolds) (Con)]

Will the hon. Lady give way? [Laughter.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. That is not good form. Ms Martin, you are not meant to give way when you are asking a question, but I assume you have finished your question.

--- Later in debate ---

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Even though he has been a very naughty boy, I call Charlie Dewhirst.

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

Madam Deputy Speaker, I can only apologise for being a naughty boy.

Hon. Members will remember that in 2001 the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, entered into negotiations with Spain over a joint sovereignty agreement with Gibraltar, which resulted in a referendum in which 98.5% of Gibraltarians rejected that deal. Although the Government of Gibraltar welcome today’s treaty, which I am sure is well intentioned, the Minister will no doubt understand that there may be some concern with that history and the involvement of Spain in the operation and governance of Gibraltar. Can he therefore reassure the House, the United Kingdom and the Gibraltarian people that any future changes to the current treaty and any further alignment with the EU will be done only with the agreement of the people of Gibraltar?

[Stephen Doughty]

I can absolutely assure the hon. Gentleman of that. We were not willing to enter into an agreement that the Gibraltarian people were not content with. That is the principle of the double lock, which we have stuck to throughout this process. It is 2026, not 2001. We are confident that this deal protects our interests and the interests of the people of Gibraltar.