The Minister for Health, Care and Business, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez MP, has addressed the Gibraltar Reception at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. The Minister spoke on behalf of the Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP, as he was unable to attend. The Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, the Hon Nigel Feetham KC MP, was also present.

This year's reception was the first to be held since the UK-EU Treaty in respect of Gibraltar entered into force.

In her address, Minister Arias-Vasquez congratulated the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, on behalf of the Government and people of Gibraltar, on his first conference as Leader of the Labour Party.

The Minister set out that the UK-EU Treaty in respect of Gibraltar fully upholds and explicitly protects the exclusively British sovereignty over Gibraltar, its territory and its waters. She highlighted the certainty it gives Gibraltar's economy and the practical difference it makes to frontier workers, families and businesses. 

The Minister also highlighted the wider relationship between Gibraltar and the United Kingdom, including specialist care for Gibraltarian patients in UK hospitals, the training of Gibraltar's clinicians and students in the UK, and strong trading links between the two.

Whilst in Liverpool, Minister Arias-Vasquez also met with a number of UK Government ministers, Members of Parliament and other stakeholders to discuss the implementation of the Treaty and areas of shared interest between Gibraltar and the United Kingdom.

HM Government of Gibraltar is attending a total of seven UK party conferences this autumn.

The Minister for Health, Care and Business, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez MP, said:

"It was a privilege to address our friends at the Labour Party Conference on behalf of the Chief Minister, the Government and the people of Gibraltar. It is very important that Gibraltar is here. We have come to this conference for many years, in good years and in difficult ones, because this is where our friends are and because it gives us the opportunity to make Gibraltar's case directly to those who shape decisions in the United Kingdom. This was the first time we have gathered at conference with our Treaty in force, and it was an opportunity to thank all those whose work made it possible. The Treaty protects our sovereignty, gives our economy the certainty it needs to grow and is already making a real difference to the thousands of people who cross our frontier every day. Our focus now is on making it work well in practice. Our relationship with the United Kingdom goes far beyond the Treaty, in our hospitals, our universities and our businesses, and we do not take a single one of our friends for granted."

The Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez MP Speech - Labour Party Conference 2026