Editing History of Malta (section)

=== From home rule to independence ===<!-- This section is linked from [[Malta]] -->
[[File:MLT 1948 MiNr0201 pmB002.jpg|thumb|1947 stamp with [[George VI]] commemorating self-government]]
After the Second World War, the islands achieved self-rule, with the [[Labour Party (Malta)|Malta Labour Party]] (MLP) of [[Dom Mintoff]] seeking either full integration with the UK or else "self-determination" (independence) and the [[Nationalist Party (Malta)|Partit Nazzjonalista]] (PN) of [[George Borg Olivier]] favouring independence, with the same "dominion status" that Canada, Australia and New Zealand enjoyed.

The 1953 Coronation incident (where, initially, no invitation was sent for a Maltese delegation to attend the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth&nbsp;II), temporarily united Maltese politicians. After the MLP's electoral victory in 1955, in December Round Table Talks were held in London, on the future of Malta, namely the Integration proposal put forward by Mintoff. It was attended by the new Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, Borg Olivier, and other Maltese politicians, along with the British [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|Colonial Secretary]], [[Alan Lennox-Boyd]]. The British government agreed to offer the islands their own representation in [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]], with three seats in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], with the [[Home Office]] taking over responsibility for Maltese affairs from the Colonial Office.<ref name="hansard"/>
Under the proposals, the Maltese Parliament would retain authority over all affairs except defence, foreign policy, and taxation. The Maltese were also to have social and economic parity with the UK, to be guaranteed by the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) the islands' main source of employment.

A [[1956 Maltese United Kingdom integration referendum|UK integration referendum]] was held on 11 and 12&nbsp;February 1956, in which 77.02% of voters were in favour of the proposal,<ref>{{cite web |title=Referenda in Malta: The questions and the voters' responses |website=maltadata.com |url=http://www.maltadata.com/ref-votes.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111073623/http://www.maltadata.com/ref-votes.htm |archive-date=11 November 2013}}</ref> but owing to a boycott by the Nationalist Party and the Church, only 59.1% of the electorate voted, thereby rendering the result inconclusive.<ref>{{cite web |title=Referenda in Malta |website=vassallomalta.com |url=http://www.vassallomalta.com/Referenda.htm#1956%20Integration%20Referendum |access-date=2019-01-29 |archive-date=26 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726183917/http://www.vassallomalta.com/Referenda.htm#1956%20Integration%20Referendum |url-status=dead }}</ref>

There were also concerns expressed by British MPs that the representation of Malta at Westminster would set a precedent for other colonies, and influence the outcome of general elections.<ref name="hansard">{{cite web |title=Malta Round Table Conference |date=26 March 1956 |website=UK Parliament |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1956/mar/26/malta-round-table-conference}}</ref>

[[File:A view of shops with anti-British and pro-Independence signs, possibly on Kings Street, Valetta, Malta (5074435957).jpg|thumb|Malta Labour Party club in [[Valletta]] with anti-British and pro-Independence signs in the late 1950s]]
In addition, the decreasing strategic importance of Malta to the Royal Navy meant that the British government was increasingly reluctant to maintain the naval dockyards. Following a decision by the Admiralty to dismiss 40&nbsp;workers at the dockyard, Mintoff declared that "representatives of the Maltese people in Parliament declare that they are no longer bound by agreements and obligations toward the British government" (the 1958 ''Caravaggio incident''). In response, the Colonial Secretary sent a cable to Mintoff, stating that he had "recklessly hazarded" the whole integration plan.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Penny-wise |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=13 January 1958 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,862830,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302023516/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C862830%2C00.html |archive-date=2 March 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Under protest, Dom Mintoff resigned as Prime Minister along with all the MLP deputies on 21 April 1958. Georgio Borg Olivier was offered to form an alternative government by Governor Laycock but refused. This led to the Governor declaring a state of emergency thus suspending the constitution and Malta was placed under direct colonial administration from London. The MLP had now fully abandoned support for integration (when Mintoff's demands for financial guarantees were not accepted) and now advocated full independence from Britain. In 1959, an Interim Constitution provided for an Executive Council under British rule.

While France had implemented a similar policy in its colonies, some of which became [[overseas departments]], the status offered to Malta from Britain constituted a unique exception. Malta was the only [[British overseas territory|British colony]] where integration with the UK was seriously considered, and subsequent British governments have ruled out integration for remaining overseas territories, such as [[Gibraltar]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Gibraltar |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1976/aug/03/gibraltar |publisher=H.C. Deb |date=3 August 1976 |volume=916 |id=cc726-7W |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109000842/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1976/aug/03/gibraltar |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |archive-date=9 January 2016}}</ref>

From 1959 Malta's British governor started to pursue a plan of economic development based on promoting [[tourism]] and [[tax competition]], offering very low tax rates on pensions, royalties and dividends to attract British (referred to as ‘sixpenny settlers’) and former colonial pensioners. Malta saw a large influx of Britons from [[Rhodesia]] after 1967.<ref>{{cite periodical |first=Vanessa |last=Ogle |date=August 2020 |title='Funk Money': The end of empires, the expansion of tax havens, and decolonization as an economic and financial event |periodical=Past & Present |volume=249 |pages=213–249 |doi=10.1093/pastj/gtaa001 |url=https://academic.oup.com/past/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pastj/gtaa001/5896119}}</ref>

In 1961, the [[Blood Commission]] provided for a new constitution allowing for a measure of self-government and recognising the "State" of Malta. [[Giorgio Borg Olivier]] became Prime Minister the following year, when the [[Stolper report]] was delivered.