Conservative Chief Kemi Badenoch Confirms Plan to Withdraw UK out of European Convention on Human Rights

Badenoch confirmed she would announced that the Conservative administration under her leadership would withdraw Britain from the European convention on human rights.

The decision signals a rightward shift for the Conservative party, who are attempting to stem a loss of support to Reform UK led by Nigel Farage. The Reform leader has consistently been a opponent of the ECHR and has vowed to withdraw from it if he takes office as prime minister.

The Leader's Statement

She stated recently that she had “not come to this decision lightly, but it is evident that it is essential to safeguard our frontiers, our veterans and our people”.

Arguments For and Against ECHR Withdrawal

Critics of the ECHR argue it frustrates the authorities' attempts to address illegal migration and remove overseas offenders.

Others argue that pulling out of the agreement would damage the UK’s global standing and breach the Belfast Agreement, which brought an end to years of strife in Northern Ireland. Russia and Belarus are the only two European countries that are not signatories.

Assessment Conclusions

Badenoch’s decision follows the completion of a extensive study by Lord Wolfson, the opposition legal chief, which found that the treaty “places significant constraints on the administration” across a variety of fields, including border control.

The commercial barrister deemed other options, such as revising or derogating from the agreement, “not feasible or insufficient”.

He argued that leaving it was consistent with the 1998 peace deal and the Windsor framework negotiated by the former prime minister to ease post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Conservative Statement

The Conservative party said: “Unlike Reform UK, who have made hasty pledges with no consideration of the implications and no strategy to deliver behind them, the Conservatives have done the thorough analysis to examine the juridical and operational factors required to withdraw from the convention in an orderly manner.”

Context on the ECHR

This human rights treaty was created in the mid-20th century and defines the liberties and entitlements individuals can claim in the member states of the Council of Europe. It is a key component of Britain's rights legislation and has been invoked to stop efforts to remove individuals who are considered to be in the UK illegally.

Key Concerns

Its critics focused their concerns on Article Three, which protects against inhuman or degrading treatment, and article 8, which safeguards the privacy and family rights, saying that they are being interpreted too broadly by judges and block lawful removals.

Individuals and countries can only appeal to the European court of human rights once they have used all national legal options.

Party Contest Context

During the Conservative leadership election last summer, participation in the convention became a key difference between Badenoch and Robert Jenrick. Badenoch argued that leaving the ECHR would not solve the UK’s issues, while her rival said his the Conservatives would “die” if it argued to stay in.