In 2013, the Falkland Islands held a referendum on their political status with 99.8% of the 91.9% of the population that turned out, voting to retain their political status as an Overseas Territory of the UK. Three decades after the campaign, the British Forces still have a base on the island. The air-bridge to Ascension Island (another UK Overseas Territory), which became a vital half-way house for equipping, reorganising, training and planning, is still maintained. Land mines, buried during the conflict, are still present to this day and have left some areas unavailable for habitation, but open to wildlife. |