Spaniards have piled on even more pressure for Prime Minister Theresa May to get her controversial deal through Parliament, fearing a no deal would rip what is left of Spain apart following the chaos with Catalonia separatists. In a piece for Spanish news publication Elcierre Digital, it reads: “The big British industries in the banking, insurance, pharmaceutical or aviation sectors among others may end up fleeing the country in a similar way to what happened in Catalonia.” It then said a hard Brexit, or no deal, would drive the wealthy Britons out of Gibraltar.
It continued: “As for Gibraltar, the great fortunes that operate in the Rock can be affected in the same way as their ‘compatriots’.
“Many of these entrepreneurs who dominate Gibraltar take advantage of the taxation of the overseas territory and the quality of life in some areas of southern Spain.
“Thus, it is estimated that of the more than 34,000 inhabitants of the Rock, which are called llanitos, 7,000 of them have their residence in Spain, which is 20 percent of the population of Gibraltar.
“The great families of the British territory that has an unemployment rate of less than one percent have mansions in luxury housing developments in Cádiz, one of the provinces with the highest unemployment rate in all of Spain.”
Tourism in Catalonia has slumped 15 percent since the region was plagued by violent protests.
Terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, leaving 16 dead, made Catalonia even less unpopular after the referendum result was declared illegal.
Up to two years on, there are no signs that tensions between Madrid and Catalonia are easing.
Meanwhile, the EU granted Mrs May a third Brexit extension, with the new date now October 31.
The original date promised to Brexiteers by Mrs May was March 29, and then April 12.
She has struggled to reach an agreement in cross-party talks, and faces increasing pressure from MPs to secure a Brexit deal before the European elections on May 23.
Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.
