It is time for Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights.
I have not taken this decision lightly. I have always been clear that we should leave the ECHR if we need to, but I was also concerned about the arguments that had been raised in opposition to leaving.
The moment my mind was changed was earlier this year, during my campaign for a national inquiry into the grooming gangs.
Hearing survivors’ horrific stories first-hand, and watching as the men who had raped young girls in Britain avoided deportation by using the ECHR, hardened my resolve that it was time to gather the legal evidence for leaving.
So, before the summer, I commissioned distinguished KC Lord Wolfson, to advise me definitively on whether five key policies that a Conservative government I lead would want to implement could be delivered as a member of the ECHR.
First, could we take back control of our asylum system and lawfully remove foreign criminals and illegal immigrants to their home country or a third country such as Rwanda? Second, could we stop our veterans being endlessly pursued by vexatious legal attacks, and make sure our military can fight a future war without one hand tied behind their backs?
Third, could we put British citizens first when it comes to social housing and public services because we believe that charity begins at home and those who have paid in should come first? Fourth, could we make sure prison sentences actually reflect Parliament’s intentions? And fifth, could we stop courts treating climate change as a human right and allowing endless legal challenges to frustrate the changes we need to make to our planning system?
What all these questions really come down to is: who makes the laws that govern the United Kingdom? I am clear that it should be our sovereign Parliament, democratically accountable to the British people, that decides.
Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch says the ECHR frustrates border control
This week Lord Wolfson delivered his advice. He found that in all the five policy areas I outlined above, the ECHR places significant constraints on the Government’s ability to address the key issue.
When it comes to the removal of illegal immigrants and protecting veterans, ECHR membership makes it impossible to do what I believe is necessary.
In the areas of public services, prison sentences and climate change constraints, the changes I want to make to our laws would be subject to the sort of debilitating legal challenges that lead to government policies getting delayed and ultimately killed in the courts.
Lord Wolfson’s advice also indicates that alternative options, such as re-negotiation, derogation or repealing only the Human Rights Act, are either unrealistic or ineffective.
So, after consultation with my Shadow Cabinet, I have decided that the next Conservative government will withdraw from the ECHR. This is a big change in Conservative Party policy, but a necessary one.
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There will be some, such as our human rights lawyer Prime Minister, who will howl that by doing so we are turning our backs on the international community. But Britain has never needed supranational agreements and oversight by foreign courts to protect the rights and freedoms of our people.
We will return to common law and statutory protections, focused on democratic legitimacy and ensuring a proper balance between rights and responsibilities. Leaving the ECHR will prevent the courts in the UK and in Strasbourg using ever-widening interpretations of its articles to frustrate sensible border control.
The road ahead will not be simple. Lord Wolfson is clear that leaving the ECHR does create technical and political challenges. But we can no longer pretend that we can act in the interest of the prosperity and security of this country without taking those challenges on.
And Lord Wolfson advises that withdrawing from the ECHR alone is not enough. If we are fully to control our borders and end illegal migration, there must be further action.
We will be saying more shortly about what other changes we need to end the scourge of illegal immigration.
But I am now very clear that, once we are out of the straitjacket of ECHR membership, a Conservative government will be able to enact the policies the British people rightfully expect – control of our borders, and a strengthening of our economy.
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