MPs debate Gibraltar

gibraltar

On Thursday 8 January, MPs took part in a debate on a motion relating to Gibraltar. This debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee.

The debate was opened by Sir Richard Ottaway, Conservative MP for Croydon South. Shadow Europe Minister, Pat McFadden, responded to the debate on behalf of the Opposition. Minister for Europe, David Lidington, responded to the debate on behalf of the Government.

Watch the debate and read the transcript

Text of the Motion

'That this House notes the Second Report from the Foreign Affairs Committee, Gibraltar: Time to get off the fence, HC 461; endorses the Committee’s position that the behaviour of the current Spanish government toward Gibraltar is unacceptable; regrets that trilateral dialogue between the UK, Gibraltar and Spain remains suspended; believes that the time has come for more concerted action; and invites the Government to review its policy towards Spain on Gibraltar.'

Relevant documents

Second Report from the Foreign Affairs Committee, Gibraltar: Time to get off the fence, HC 461 and the Government response, session 2014-2015.

How the subject was selected

The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee following representation from Sir Richard Ottaway and Mike Gapes at the public meeting on Tuesday 25 November 2014.

Further Information

Backbench Business Committee

The Backbench Business Committee meets weekly on Tuesdays at 3pm to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject, including those raised in e-petitions or national campaigns.

An MP must make a representation before the Committee for an e-petition or petition to be debated; e-petitions exceeding the Government's 100,000 signature threshold are not automatically allocated backbench time.

The Committee then has to decide how to allocate the limited Parliamentary time it has at its disposal. The Committee's meetings are always conducted in public and can be watched on Parliament TV.