Labour Party

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Lore & Background

The GSLP was founded by Joe Bossano after he left the Integration with Britain Party in 1975 and founded the Gibraltar Democratic Movement (GDM). The GDM contested the 1976 election winning four seats in the House of Assembly. The GDM became the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party in 1978 and obtained one seat, that of Bossano, in the 1980 election. At the elections of 1984, the GSLP capitalized on Gibraltarian discontent about the way the British Government was handling the future of the Gibraltar Royal Navy dockyard, opposing the transfer of the docks to Appledore Shipbuilders (which involved the loss of about 400 jobs), and winning seven of the fifteen seats of the Assembly. The party was eventually in Government from 1988 to 1996. In April 2011, Joe Bossano retired as party leader and was replaced by Fabian Picardo.

In Their Own Story

The TGWU during Bossano's tenure was instrumental in achieving parity with the United Kingdom for all workers in Gibraltar. In the 1984 election, the party won 34.2% of the popular vote and 7 seats. In the 1988 election, the party won 58.2% of the popular vote and 8 seats to form the new government. In the 1992 election, the party won 73.1% of the popular vote and 8 seats. In the 1996 election, the party won 42.95% of the popular vote and 7 seats. In the 2011 election, the party won (in Alliance with the Liberals) 34.23% of the popular vote and 7 seats and, with the 3 seats won by the Liberal Party, formed the new Government of Gibraltar. In the 2013 by-election, following the death of Housing Minister Charles Bruzon (GSLP), the GSLP candidate Albert Isola won 49.84% of the popular vote to fill in the vacant seat. In the 2015 election, the party won (in Alliance with the Liberals) 47.83% of the popular vote and 7 seats.

Reader's Guide

Like all the other parties in Gibraltar, the GSLP supports self-determination for Gibraltar and opposes any moves toward joint British–Spanish sovereignty. The party has strong member and personal ties with the UK Labour Party with many prominent members having been involved with the Labour Party while in the United Kingdom. The GSLP also endorsed the Labour Party at the 2014 European Parliament elections as it had done on previous European elections. The party strongly supports Gibraltar's territorial integrity, in particular seeks pursuit of the recognition of the full twelve-mile limit to Gibraltar territorial waters, as is the case with other British overseas territories, and it considers Spain's violations of the current three-mile limit of territorial waters as 'a hostile and unfriendly act'. The party does not consider Gibraltar to have been decolonised by the Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006 and has a policy of continued participation at all United Nations venues in which Gibraltar is discussed including the Special Committee on Decolonization until the decolonisation of Gibraltar is recognised by the UN and the achievement of a new international status for Gibraltar as a full self-governing territory under the British Crown.

Did You Know?

• The GSLP is the oldest surviving active political party in Gibraltar.
• Founder Joe Bossano was the District Officer of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU).
• The party opposed the transfer of the Gibraltar Royal Navy dockyard to Appledore Shipbuilders, which involved the loss of about 400 jobs.
• In the 1992 election, the GSLP won 73.1% of the popular vote.
• The GSLP endorsed the UK Labour Party at the 2014 European Parliament elections.

Origins in Trade Unions and Local Reform

The GSLP's roots are based in the trade union movement, as its founder and former leader Joe Bossano was the District Officer of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU). The TGWU during Bossano's tenure was instrumental in achieving parity with the United Kingdom for all workers in Gibraltar.

Formation of the Parliamentary Group

Joe Bossano left the Integration with Britain Party in 1975 and founded the Gibraltar Democratic Movement (GDM), which contested the 1976 election winning four seats in the House of Assembly. The GDM became the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party in 1978 and obtained one seat, that of Bossano, in the 1980 election.

Defining Ideology and Wartime Transformation

The GSLP supports self-determination for Gibraltar and opposes any moves toward joint British–Spanish sovereignty. The party strongly supports Gibraltar's territorial integrity, in particular seeks pursuit of the recognition of the full twelve-mile limit to Gibraltar territorial waters, and it considers Spain's violations of the current three-mile limit of territorial waters as 'a hostile and unfriendly act'.

Modern Political Trajectory and Resurgence

Fabian Picardo has led the party since 2011 and has served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar since the 2011 general election. In the 2011 election, the party won (in Alliance with the Liberals) 34.23% of the popular vote and 7 seats and, with the 3 seats won by the Liberal Party, formed the new Government of Gibraltar. In the 2015 election, the party won (in Alliance with the Liberals) 47.83% of the popular vote and 7 seats.