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 of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

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. 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, 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, 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, who had gained 39.4% of the votes.

History

The party emerged, after the collapse of the Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights, as the main opposition to the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP). In 2005, the GSD merged with the Gibraltar Labour Party, 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 Keith Azopardi and executive member Nick Cruz, 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: Daniel Feetham and Damon Bossino. 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

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British overseas territory 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, Can ...

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

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than its main rival, the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party.

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 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 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 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

* Daniel Feetham (since 2007) * Edwin Reyes (since 2007) * Elliott Phillips (since 2015) * Roy Clinton (since 2015) * Keith Azopardi (since 2019) (Leader of the Opposition) * Damon Bossino (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