General elections were held in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

on 26 January 1984. 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 ...

(AACR) administration of

Joshua Hassan Sir Joshua Abraham Hassan (21 August 1915 – 1 July 1997), nicknamed "''Salvador''" (''Saviour''), was a Gibraltarian politician, and first mayor and Chief Minister of Gibraltar, serving four terms as chief minister for a total of over 20 year ...

was re-elected for a further term. The election was referred to as the "dockyard election", as the future of the Gibraltar Royal Naval Dockyard was the only significant campaign issue.

Background

Under the constitution of 1969, in the 1980s the Gibraltar House of Assembly had seventeen seats, two held by official members appointed by the

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

(the attorney-general and the financial secretary), and fifteen others elected at-large by the whole electorate in a single Gibraltar-wide constituency. A party or coalition winning eight seats in the Assembly had an effective majority and formed the government. The

(called in full the "Gibraltar Labour Party Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights") had been the dominant political force in Gibraltar since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, winning every election but one. Hassan had been Chief Minister since 1964, apart from the three years between 1969 and 1972, and the previous election, held on 6 February 1980, had produced a House of Assembly with eight AACR members, six from the opposition

Democratic Party for a British Gibraltar The Democratic Party for a British Gibraltar (DPBG) was a Pro-British political party in Gibraltar. History Following the disbandment of the Integration with Britain Party, the Gibraltar Democratic Movement was established in 1976 in response t ...

, and one other,

Joe Bossano Sir Joseph John Bossano (born 10 June 1939) is a Gibraltarian politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1988 to 1996 and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party from 1978 to 2011. He served as Leader of the Opposition ...

, leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party. Despite his party's five other candidates all losing, Bossano had had a personal triumph, polling only sixty-four fewer votes than Hassan.

Campaign

The election was called "the dockyard election",R. H. Haigh, D. S. Morris, ''Britain, Spain and Gibraltar 1945-1990: The Eternal Triangle'' (2002, )
p. 123
"The single-issue nature of the election served to ensure that it assumed the character of a referendum on the proposals agreed between the British and Gibraltarian Governments to convert the naval dockyard into a commercial ship repair yard; a fact attested to by the election being dubbed the 'dockyard election'." as almost the only campaign issue was the British Government's plans, agreed with Hassan's AACR government, to transfer the Gibraltar Royal Naval dockyard to

Appledore International Appledore Shipbuilders is a shipbuilder in Appledore, North Devon, England. History The Appledore Yard was founded in 1855 on the estuary of the River Torridge. The Richmond Dry Dock was built in 1856 by William Yeo and named after Richmond ...

, with new investment from Britain of £ 28 million, but with a loss of some four hundred jobs. In the circumstances, the election amounted to a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

on these proposals. Hassan and his AACR campaigned in favour of the deal, on the slogan "the only way ahead".Richard Wigg, 'Dockyards deal with Britain dominates poll in Gibraltar' in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' (London), issue 61748 dated 26 January 1984, p. 7 Hassan stated firmly "I have obtained a very fair package and I feel a duty to see it implemented over the next four years. No one could have obtained a better deal." However, both of the leading opposition parties, the Democratic Party for a British Gibraltar led by

Peter Isola Peter Joseph Isola, OBE, GMH (Gibraltar, 1929 – 28 January 2006 ), was a Gibraltarian politician and lawyer. He succeeded Maurice Xiberras as leader of the Democratic Party for a British Gibraltar (DPBG). Early life and career Isola was b ...

and the Socialist Labour Party of Joe Bossano, campaigned against. The Democrats' platform was that on winning the election they would renegotiate the deal and press Britain for a further £5 million to pay for economic diversification. The leader of the Socialist Labour Party, Bossano, was also a leading member of the

Transport and General Workers Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

, the biggest labour organization in Gibraltar, and his position was that Appledore should be sent packing and the British government's £28 million should be spent "to relaunch Gibraltar's economy on a sounder and more durable foundation".

Results

The turnout on 26 January 1984 was 74%, one of the highest ever known for a Gibraltar election. Despite the re-election of Hassan's AACR administration, all eight of its candidates being elected to the House of Assembly, there was a dramatic turn of events in the

politics of Gibraltar The politics of Gibraltar takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic British Overseas Territory, whereby the Monarch of the United Kingdom is the constitutional head of state represented by the Governor of Gib ...

, with Isola's Democratic Party, the main opposition to the AACR since 1980, losing all six of its seats, and Bossano's Socialist Labour Party winning seven and taking over as the official opposition. Bossano himself came third in the at-large election, beating six of the winning party's candidates. In a touch of irony, his party's only losing candidate was surnamed "Victory".Peter Gold, ''Gibraltar: British or Spanish?'' (London: Routledge, 2005, ), pp. 59–60

By candidate

The first fifteen candidates were elected to the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...

References

{{Gibraltar elections General elections in Gibraltar

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results