The Integration with Britain Party (IWBP) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in Gibraltar. Although it never won an election, it was briefly in power from 1969 to 1972 when Robert Peliza of the IWBP was

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

History

The party was established in February 1967 by Robert Peliza, a former member of the Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights (AACR), and called full integration with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, including electing MPs to the British Parliament. In the 1969 elections the AACR emerged as the largest party with seven of the 15 seats in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gover ...

, with the IWBP winning five and the

Isola Group The Isola Group was a right-wing political faction in Gibraltar in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was led by brothers Peter Isola and William Isola, and was deemed to represent the business community.Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political part ...

three.

Joshua Hassan Sir Joshua Abraham Hassan (21 August 1915 – 1 July 1997), nicknamed "''Salvador''" (''Saviour''), was a Gibraltarian politician, and first mayor and Chief Minister of Gibraltar, serving four terms as chief minister for a total of over 20 y ...

, the leader of the AACR was unable to get the support of the Isola Group, who supported Peliza and allowed him to form a government. After the defection of an Isola Group member, Peliza dissolved the

in June 1972 and called early elections.Vincent E McHale (1983)
Political parties of Europe
', Greenwood Press, p325 Although the IWBP won seven seats, it was defeated by the AACR, which obtained eight seats and 52% of vote, as the Isola Group lost all three seats. The results returned Joshua Hassan to power, leaving Peliza as leader of the Opposition. In October 1972, Maurice Xiberras took over as party and Opposition leader. The party political stands were mainly two: the parity of wages between the labour force in Gibraltar and that in the United Kingdom and the achievement of the integration with the United Kingdom. Although the struggle on parity was successful, with Gibraltar workers gaining parity in July 1978, the party's main aim of closer links with the UK was dealt a severe blow when in 1975, the British

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

Minister, Roy Hattersley, stated that integration was not acceptable to the British Government. In spite of this, during early 1976, a Gibraltarian cross-party Constitution Committee began to work on a proposal of constitutional changes that involved a further integration of Gibraltar with the United Kingdom. A delegation of the Constitution Committee, comprising Joshua Hassan and Maurice Xiberras visited

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in June 1976, but were unable to convince the United Kingdom Government which, in response, issued a

memorandum A memorandum ( : memoranda; abbr: memo; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered") is a written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviated "memo," these messages are usually brief and ...

rejecting the proposals. As a result of the British government's stance, the IWBP was dissolved shortly before the

1976 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1976. Africa * 1976–1977 Guinea-Bissau legislative election * 1976 Malawian general election * 1976 Mauritanian presidential election * 1976 Tiris El Gharbiya parliamentary by-election (Mauritan ...

. The AACR won eight seats (with a personal vote of 75.3% for its leader Hassan) and returned to power, although Xiberras was elected as an independent.

Other former IWBP members

Another Chief Minister,

Joe Bossano Sir Joseph John Bossano (born 10 June 1939) is a Gibraltarian politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1988 to 1996 and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party from 1978 to 2011. He served as Leader of the Opposition fr ...

, began his political career in the IWBP, and was elected to the

in 1972. However, he left the party in 1975 and formed the

Gibraltar Democratic Movement The Democratic Party for a British Gibraltar (DPBG) was a Pro-British political party in Gibraltar. History Following the disbandment of the Integration with Britain Party, the Gibraltar Democratic Movement was established in 1976 in response ...

after the IWBP was dissolved.McHale, p324

References

Sources

* {{Gibraltar political parties Defunct political parties in Gibraltar Political parties established in 1967 1967 establishments in Gibraltar Political parties disestablished in 1976