The Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) is a

liberal-conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the Right-wing politics, right of the Left–right politics, political spectrum, but are closer to the Centrism, centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure a ...

political party in Gibraltar. The GSD was the governing party for four successive terms in office under the leadership of

Peter Caruana Sir Peter Richard Caruana, (born 15 October 1956) is a Gibraltarian former politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1996 to 2011 and Leader of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) from 1991 to 2013. Caruana is a barrister by pr ...

, from the 1996 general election until the party's electoral defeat in the 2011 election by the

GSLP–Liberal Alliance The GSLP–Liberal Alliance is a centre-left political alliance active in Gibraltar consisting of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) and Liberal Party of Gibraltar (LPG). History The first election contested by the Alliance was the 20 ...

. On 30 November 2017, the party underwent their second

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...

as its leader,

Daniel Feetham Daniel Anthony Feetham KC MP is a Gibraltarian politician and lawyer who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) from 2013 to 2017. Political career Mr Feetham was one of the founders of the Gi ...

, resigned in July. As a result, 60.6% of the votes (from executives and members of the party) had gone to support rejoined GSD member,

Keith Azopardi Keith Azopardi (born 6 June 1967) is a Gibraltarian lawyer and politician serving as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Gibraltar Social Democrats since 2017. He was born in Gibraltar on 6 June 1967 and was called to the Bars of Eng ...

, who was a minister and Deputy Chief Minister under the first few years of

's run as Chief Minister. Azopardi had beaten interim leader

Roy Clinton Roy Mark Clinton is a Gibraltarian politician, banker and author who is a member of the Gibraltar Social Democrats and currently serves as the shadow minister for finance in the Parliament of Gibraltar. Clinton obtained a bachelor's degree in bus ...

, who had gained 39.4% of the votes.

History

The party emerged, after the collapse of the

Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights The Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights (AACR) was a political party in Gibraltar. History The AACR was established in 1942 by Joshua Hassan and Albert Risso, and sought to protect the interests of families evacuated during World Wa ...

, as the main opposition to the

Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party The Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) is a social-democratic political party in Gibraltar. The GSLP is the oldest surviving active political party in Gibraltar. Its roots are based in the trade union movement, as its founder and former lea ...

(GSLP). In 2005, the GSD merged with the

Gibraltar Labour Party The Gibraltar Labour Party was a political party in Gibraltar. They described themselves as a progressive socialist organisation and stated that their formation was prompted by the need for a strong opposition to the government. They were foun ...

, retaining the GSD name for the enlarged party. The merger was unpopular with many members of both parties, causing some high-profile GSD members to resign their membership, including deputy leader

and executive member

Nick Cruz The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) was a liberal conservative political party from Gibraltar. The party was the third political party and the only party to sit on the centre-right in Gibraltar. Despite poor election results, it garnered gr ...

, who went on to form the short-lived Progressive Democratic Party. In January 2013,

(who was the then Leader of the Opposition), announced he was stepping down as leader and taking up a backbench position until his 4-year term was over. Caruana declared that he would not fight the next election and will be stepping out of politics completely. The leadership was contested by two GSD MPs:

and

Damon Bossino The Hon. Damon James Bossino, MP, (born 10 August 1983) is a Gibraltarian barrister and Member of the Gibraltar Parliament representing the Gibraltar Social Democrats. He is married to Rosa Arrimadas from Spain with whom he has three children ...

. Feetham was elected on 4 February 2013 as Leader of the party by majority vote of the executive. This was the first time a party's leadership was to be democratically contested between two candidates.

Policies

The GSD has been described as

and

. The party supports the current constitutional status of Gibraltar as an

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

and is opposed to any proposal of joint

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

–

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

. The GSD has traditionally been less hostile in its attitude to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

than its main rival, the

Elections

In the 1991 by-election to the Gibraltar House of Assembly, following the resignation of GSD Leader

Peter Montegriffo Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

was elected party leader and won 61.81% of the popular vote to fill in the vacant seat. In the 1992 election, the party won 20.2% of the popular vote and 7 seats. In the 1996 election, the party won 52.20% of the popular vote and 8 seats. In the 2000 election, the party won 58.35% of the popular vote and 8 seats. In the 2003 election, the party won 51.45% of the popular vote and 8 seats. In the 2007 election to the newly named (and reorganised)

Gibraltar Parliament The Gibraltar Parliament is the legislature of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Between 1969 and 2006, it was called the Gibraltar House of Assembly. Functions The House of Assembly, set up under the 1969 constitution, was a uni ...

, the party won 49.33% of the popular vote and 10 seats. In the 2011 election, the party won 46.76% of the popular vote and 7 seats, unable to secure a fifth term. In the

2013 by-election Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

, the GSD candidate

Marlene Hassan Nahon Marlene Hassan Nahon (born 1976) is a Gibraltarian historian, journalist and politician, currently serving as a member of the Gibraltar Parliament since 2015. Biography Hassan Nahon is daughter of the late Chief Minister Sir Joshua Abraham ...

won 39.95% of the popular vote. In the 2015 election, the party won 31.56% of the popular vote and 7 seats. The GSD endorsed the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in the 2015 British general election. In the 2019 election, the party won 25.6% of the popular vote and 7 seats.

Election results

Parliament of Gibraltar

By-elections

European Parliament

Gibraltar was part of the South West England constituency in the European parliament and its major parties formed joint ticket alliances with the major UK parties. From 2004 until Brexit, the Gibraltar Social Democrats were in an alliance with the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Current GSD MPs

(since 2007) * Edwin Reyes (since 2007) *

Elliott Phillips The Hon. Elliot Phillips, MP is a Gibraltarian barrister and former Member of the Gibraltar Parliament from 2015-2023, representing the Gibraltar Social Democrats. Phillips studied law at the University of Plymouth and the Inns of Court Sch ...

(since 2015) *

(since 2019) (Leader of the Opposition) *

(since 2019)

List of Leaders

References

External links

Gibraltar Social Democrats official website
{{Gibraltar topics Political parties in Gibraltar Conservative parties in British Overseas Territories