MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar residents can stand in any UK region.

Gibraltar residents will be able to stand as candidates in any United Kingdom electoral constituency and not just the south-west at the forthcoming European elections later this year, declared the GSLP/Lib alliance.

It follows a clarification from the Electoral Commission after Leader of the Opposition Joe Bossano had raised comments as to the wording of information posted on the Commission's website. Mr Bossano said: "The Opposition has taken up with the UK's Electoral Commission certain comments which appeared on their website. We noted that the Commission's guide to who could stand for election stated that a person must be resident in the UK to be able to put his name forward. In this respect Tom Hawthorn of the Electoral Commission has confirmed that the residency requirement is satisfied equally by residents in Gibraltar and by residents in the UK in accordance with the provisions of the European Parliamentary (Representation) Act 2003." "The Opposition has also taken up whether a person resident in Gibraltar could in fact stand in any UK region and not just in the south west. Mr Hawthorn has also clarified that under the provisions of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002, there is no requirement of residency within the electoral area to be contested and that, accordingly, a person resident in Gibraltar would be qualified to stand in any electoral area in UK and not just the south west. The Commission has further confirmed to us that detailed guidelines for candidates wishing to stand for election to the European Parliament will be published following the Westminster Parliament's approval of the European Parliamentary Elections Regulations. This guidance will take, in the Commission's view, full account of the requirements for candidates in Gibraltar." "Meanwhile the Commission has acknowledged that some references, such as those to residency requirements for candidates, should already have been updated to take account of the 2003 Act and Mr Hawthorn has stated that he has arranged for appropriate amendments to be made. As a result of the points made by the Opposition, therefore, the Commission's web page will be amended."

Tory leader promises to scrap "shared sovereignty plans"

Shadow Foreign Secretary Michael Ancram launched an attack on the "spin, deceit, betrayal and sell-out'' of the British government's foreign policy this weekend. In a speech to the Welsh Conservative conference in Llandudno, North Wales, Mr Ancram - who is also deputy leader of the party - said a Tory government would not "turn its back'' on Zimbabwe and would scrap plans to share sovereignty over Gibraltar. "We will disown this Government's dishonourable agreement in principle to share sovereignty with Spain. Sovereignty shared is sovereignty surrendered'', highlighted Mr. Ancram. He said Britain had to "stick it out'' in Iraq and Afghanistan, but added: "There must never again be a situation where our soldiers are put at risk because the likes of Geoff Hoon have delayed crucial military planning for party political reasons. "And never again should any of our soldiers be sent into combat without the right kit, and never again should soldiers be sent into battle with only a handful of bullets to fight a whole war''. He said lies and broken promises were "the common currency'' of the Blair administration, and the Tories would win the next election. "Isn't it exciting to be a Conservative again?'' he asked delegates. "We are united, we are determined, and we know we can win.'' Labour later challenged the Tories to come clean on their plans for defence spending. Tory plans would mean a 5% real-term spending cut in their first two years, which would mean a £1.5 billion cut in the MoD budget, Labour said. The party added that this would be the equivalent of cutting 40,000 personnel. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said: "Tory Party policy is a shambles and they must start telling the truth. "The dividing line on defence spending is clear. In the budget the Chancellor rejected the idea that defence spending should be cut. He said it would be irresponsible and contrary to the national interest. Instead he was proposing real terms increases in defence spending" "What's more, far from cuts, the 2002 Spending Review is delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence spending for 20 years. On top of that, we have met in full the costs of the campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and the war on te