Gibraltar Social Democrats
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Gibraltar Social Democrats
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|---|---|
 |
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| Leader | Daniel Feetham |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | 1A College Lane, Gibraltar |
| Ideology |
Conservatism Liberal conservatism British unionism Pro-europeanism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Colours | Blue and yellow |
| Parliament |
6 / 17
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| Website | |
| www.gsd.gi | |
The Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) is a centre-right political party in Gibraltar.
The GSD was the governing party in Gibraltar for four successive terms in office under the leadership of Peter Caruana from the 1996 general election until the party's electoral defeat in the 2011 election by the GSLP–Liberal Alliance.
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 has 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, Peter Caruana (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.
The GSD is traditionally viewed as a party of the centre-right due to its conservative policies. The party supports the current constitutional status of Gibraltar as an autonomous British overseas territory and is opposed to any proposal of joint British–Spanish sovereignty. The GSD has traditionally been less hostile in its attitude to Spain than its main rival, the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party.
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