Kemi Badenoch has announced that the Conservative administration if she becomes prime minister would pull the UK out the ECHR.
This move marks a rightward shift for the Conservative party, who are attempting to stem a loss of support to Reform UK led by Nigel Farage. Farage has consistently been a opponent of the ECHR and has pledged to leave it if he becomes prime minister.
Badenoch said recently that she had “carefully weighed this choice, but it is evident that it is necessary to protect our borders, our ex-service personnel and our citizens”.
Critics of the ECHR argue it frustrates the government’s efforts to deal with illegal migration and deport overseas offenders.
Some commentators contend that withdrawing from the treaty would damage the UK’s international reputation and breach the Belfast Agreement, which brought an end to decades of conflict in Northern Ireland. Russia and Belarus are the sole European nations that are not party to it.
The announcement follows the conclusion of a extensive study by David Wolfson, the opposition legal chief, which determined that the convention “imposes major limits on the government” across a range of areas, including immigration management.
The commercial barrister considered other options, such as renegotiating or derogating from the treaty, “not feasible or insufficient”.
Wolfson maintained that leaving it was compatible with the 1998 peace deal and the Windsor framework negotiated by Rishi Sunak to simplify post-Brexit trading arrangements.
The Conservative party commented: “Unlike Reform UK, who have made slapdash pledges with no consideration of the implications and no plan to implement them, the Conservatives have done the serious work to explore the juridical and operational factors necessary to leave the ECHR in an orderly manner.”
This human rights treaty was established in 1950 and sets out the liberties and entitlements individuals can claim in the 46 signatory countries of the Council of Europe. It is a central part of UK human rights law and has been used to halt attempts to remove people who are deemed to be in the UK illegally.
Opponents highlighted problems with article 3, which prohibits cruel or humiliating practices, and Article Eight, which helps to protect the right to private and family life, saying that they are being interpreted too broadly by judges and block lawful removals.
People and nations can only make an application to the European court of human rights after they have used all national legal options.
In the Conservative leadership election previously, participation in the convention became a dividing line between Badenoch and Robert Jenrick. She claimed that leaving the ECHR would not resolve the UK’s problems, while Jenrick said his party would “perish” if it supported remaining.
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