 However, the proposal aroused such opposition in Parliament and among various mercantile bodies in England, as well as among the native inhabitants of the Gambia, that the British government was unable to press ahead with the scheme.This "remarkably powerful" Gambia lobby was revived whenever the topic of the proposed cession was brought up, and successfully saw that the British could not cede any land.In 1888, the Gambia was once again separated from Sierra Leone and from that date until its independence operated as a separate colony.