Andrew Rosindell is the MP for Romford
There was a time when nations imposed themselves on others. Rightly or wrongly, the world map we have today is largely a result of that era in our collective human history. That time has passed; we now live in a world defined by national and territorial borders on both land and sea, where people come together under a flag united through a common culture, heritage and identity.
Gibraltar has since 1704, with its status formalised in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, been under British sovereignty “to be held and enjoyed absolutely with all manner of right forever” and, whilst Britain no longer exercises direct power over the Rock, through self-determination the people of Gibraltar have chosen to remain British and since that time, have shown nothing but steadfast loyalty to the Crown. Gibraltarians are not Spanish, they have never been Spanish and do not want to be Spanish.
So why, then, does the Kingdom of Spain refuse to accept 300 years of history and seek to impost their rule over these people? Why, against every fact and against the reality of the world of 2013, does Madrid insist that Gibraltar should be Spanish? It is of course nothing but a completely ludicrous and baseless claim. However with the economy of Spain in freefall, unemployment levels at 40 per cent and widespread civil unrest, the Spanish government is doing exactly what every other hard-pressed regime does when its back is against the wall - direct all their citizens' anger towards foreigners.