Monday, October 9, 2023 - 12:10

Overseas Territory leaders in Gibraltar during National Day 2023

Although Gibraltar is consumed by the general election this coming Thursday, it is worth dwelling on other recent events too. In that context, the idea of inviting representatives of the other Overseas Territories to the Rock around National Day was a very good one. There are synergies and commonalities of interest in this part of the British family of nations and we have much to learn from each other.

PERMANENT
The United Kingdom has fourteen Overseas Territories, like Gibraltar, although not all of them have a permanent resident population. They are the last remnants of a British Empire on which the sun never set and are geographically scattered around the globe, with a particular concentration in the Caribbean. Clearly the interests, economies and political structures of these Territories are all very different.
LESSONS
There are probably valuable lessons to learn from each other within the uniqueness of each situation. Six of the territories are in the Caribbean area. Those are Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Bermuda was given a new constitution in 1968 on the expectation that it would be independent within five years but that never happened. They kept the constitution but remained a UK Overseas Territory.