Gibxit?

Gibxit is transitioning according to Chief Minister Fabian Picardo. We have a tentative agreement through until June as the formal final agreement is going on through talks with the Gib/EU/Spain. It almost echoes Theresa May’s “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” which basically means you cannot scrutinise it nor accept or deny parts of it, you just have to “wait and see”.

However I did say almost. Because unlike the Mrs May we have a workable transition that enables the actual people both sides of the border to work, live and play as usual with, ultimately, guards from around the EU (Frontex) standing on the Spanish side of the border overseeing entry into Shengen from Gibraltar. No I probably wasn’t the first to cheer this on because at first glance Picardo and Garcia have seemingly pulled off the impossible. I did pause to think would that have been the case if like the previous CM Sir Peter Caruana they’d had a PP government staring back at them? No one could know but that still does not lessen the impact and the agreement made. Fact: 96% of us wanted to remain, this in effect enables that. Fact: 98% of us wish to remain British, this enables that to continue. Fact: If everything we have read and heard is to come about we will have our desire to remain part of the EU geographically and remain with the UK in strict political terms. This is worth celebrating.

During the coming months as money is spent and restructuring takes place we could possibly, finally, see the road tunnel opening and in use! Whatever happens if all comes to pass we will slowly see differences at the frontier and it may be that at over 307 years since the Treaty of Utrecht something significant will be put into place that will enshrine our place in Europe and our right to self determination, acceptable to Madrid.

In the echoes of the Treaty of Utrecht though for now at least.