British Nationality Bill
2 JUNE 1981
Conservative Members not to let themselves be used in that way. It did not work for long as a technique of im
al rule.
I suggest that hon. Members consider the merits of the issue and I hope that not only my right hon. and hon. Friends but a majority of the House will support new clause 7, so that Gibraltarians as individuals are given the right, which we believe they have earned because of their unique position, to become British citizens if they so wish, as individuals.
11.30 pm
Sir Paul Bryan (Howden): An impressive group of right hon. and hon. Members have put their names to the new clause. The group includes two former Ministers from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Indeed, one of them is now the distinguished chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. I am, therefore, not surprised at their enthusiasm for Gibraltar or their wish to promote its interests.
However, I am surprised that with their Commonwealth background they do not realise the effect that the new clause may have on Hong Kong. My right hon. Friend the Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Mr. Amery) gave a moving account of the Rock of Gibraltar's role in our history. Like him, I served in the Mediterranean during the war, and I agree that we should not have been there had it not been for Gibraltar,
But let us also look at the slightly less glamorous future and at what Hong Kong provides us with now. A couple of months ago we got the biggest order in the history of British industry from Hong Kong. It will give work to thousands of people in this country for many years to
come.
Let me explain the effect of the new clause on relations with Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong did not want the Bill. They did not want any change in their status of citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, despite its lack of any right of abode. They feared that any change would be for the worse. Indeed, it would have been for the worse had it not been for the important amendments moved in Committee by my right hon. Friend.
The fear experienced by the people of Hong Kong stems from a widely and genuinely held feeling-particularly among the young-that Great Britain is gradually distancing itself from Hong Kong. I explained the reasons for that on Second Reading. However, they have eventually been convinced by the Governor and by the Government that in placing Hong Kong in the new category of citizens of British dependent territories they are being treated exactly on a par with all the other dependent territories. They have received that promise and assurance from the Government. It is not only a matter of principle, as my hon. Friend the Member for Essex, South-East (Sir B. Braine) said. A promise has been given, which will be broken if the new clause is passed.
If, at the eleventh hour, the clause is carried, what are we to say to the people of Hong Kong? If such a proposition had been put in the Bill's early stages, the people of Hong Kong would have claimed British citizenship just as the Gibraltarians are doing. If the new clause is accepted, there will be great pressure from the people of Hong Kong for them to be British citizens as well. What are we to say to the people of Hong Kong if
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the new clause is passed? Are we to say that Gibraltar is a special case? [HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."] In the eyes of the people of Hong Kong the opposite is true.
Gibraltar already has many enviable advantages. EEC status gives Gibraltarians easy entry into the United Kingdom, and work permits are available at will. That is denied to the people of Hong Kong. Gibraltarian students are classed as British, while Hong Kong students are treated as foreigners and have to pay much higher fees. I cannot overstress the sour impression that this has caused in Hong Kong, with its long tradition of British education.
If, in addition to those obvious advantages, Gibraltar is singled out from the dependent territories for British citizenship, a promise will have been not only broken but broken without a single mitigating circumstance.
Mr. Gregor MacKenzie (Rutherglen): I shall detain the House for only a few minutes. Everything has been said by the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire, East (Mr. McQuarrie) and by other hon. Members. I have been persuaded partly because representations have been made to me by Sir Joshua Hassan, by Peter Isota and by Joe Bossano, of the Transport and General Workers' Union. Indeed, Mr. Bossano is also leader of the Labour Party in Gibraltar. I have had representations from inany people, and I understand their thoughts and views very well.
I make this appeal to the Home Secretary. He must not only consider the attitude of mind and the views of those important people in Gibraltar and of all Gibraltarians. He is also under a serious obligation to consider the views of the people who live in this country. I am not in favour of referenda in general terms and would not seek to persuade him to have a referendum on this issue, but if we were to ask the people of this country what they would like to do I believe that they would want to give the Gibraltarians the rights that we would propose to give them in new clause 7.
It is not too late for the Home Secretary to listen to the views of Opposition Members and of his hon. Friends. We know that the Home Secretary is a very important member of the Government. He can change the brief. That is something that Under-Secretaries of State cannot do. He has heard the views expressed from all sides of the House appealing to him to change his mind. He is a big enough man, having heard these views, to change his mind and to do so quickly.
Sir Nigel Fisher (Surbiton): I have just returned from a week in Gibraltar, where deep and genuine anxiety about the Bill is not just widespread but universal. Business men, politicians of every party and the proverbial man in the street are all united in their fears and apprehensions.
I do not believe that Gibraltar's interests are in practice prejudiced by the Bill. I tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade all the people that I talked to that their fears are groundless. It is not that they question the good faith of the British Government today. They do not. Their fears are for the future. They know that the Foreign Office, under any Government, would like to establish better relations with Spain. They know that Gibraltar is an obstacle to better relations with Spain, and that at some future date this might become a problem for Britain, with the danger that, to placate Spain, Gibraltar might be sacrificed.
I hope that the hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley), who is not in his place tonight, will not think me
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