‘We need to do something about the ECHR,’ say MPs who fear that Reform and Tory calls to leave the European convention will leave Labour exposed
Labour ministers are facing increasing pressure from their own MPs to overhaul how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) works in Britain, to make it easier to deport foreign criminals and avoid a political fight with the Conservatives and Reform UK.
The two main right-of-centre parties are both likely to enter the next general election pledging to withdraw the UK from the ECHR altogether – in a move that’s been described as Brexit 2.0 – and accusing Labour of being “soft” on illegal immigration.
Inside the governing party, there is little appetite to quit the convention. But some backbenchers are concerned about what they see as the way that it stops the Government from carrying out its migration policies and gives its opponents rhetorical opposition.
Any move to water down the protections conveyed by the convention, however, would spark a row with rights campaigners and the Labour left.
The ECHR, which guarantees a range of basic freedoms, came into force in 1953 and is backed up by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
It was written directly into UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998, which means that British residents can use the legal system here to enforce their ECHR rights rather than having to go straight to the European Court. The convention and its court are entirely separate from the European Union.
Claims ECHR is being exploited by criminals
Critics claim that the ECHR is used by illegal immigrants and foreign nationals who have committed crimes to avoid deportation on the grounds that their rights would be infringed if they were returned to their country of origin. The Conservatives’ plan to deport migrants to Rwanda who had entered the UK illegally was blocked by a judgment of the Strasbourg court in 2022.
Reform has already called for the UK to leave the ECHR and Kemi Badenoch has signalled that a future Tory government would be open to doing the same. Her former leadership rival Robert Jenrick, now the shadow Justice Secretary, is strongly opposed to ECHR membership and shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp is understood to be pushing Badenoch to commit to withdrawal before the next election.
Some Labour insiders now want ministers to take a tougher stance on the issue to stop the opposition from making political capital in the coming years.
One backbencher, representing a seat in the so-called “Red Wall” of Northern and Midlands constituencies with a large pro-Brexit majority, told The i Paper: “We need to do something about the ECHR. At the next election Reform will be promising to leave it, the Tories will be promising to leave it – we can’t just say we want to continue the status quo. That doesn’t mean pulling out but we will need reform of some kind.”
Call to ‘reinterpret’ the convention
Another Labour MP said: “By talking about leaving the ECHR, the likes of Robert Jenrick put the focus on it rather than on us. What we could do here is not reform the ECHR, but just start reinterpreting it. We can pass the law clarifying what it does and doesn’t do – this is the whole point of having a sovereign Parliament.”
Jonathan Brash, the Labour MP for Hartlepool, told GB News last week: “I don’t think it’s a particularly controversial view to say that if our government wants to deport a foreign criminal, they should be able to.”
He added: “I think that’s what people want, a government that actually makes the decision. The Government was democratically elected, they should be in charge of who is in the country and who is not. If you are a criminal and you are proposing harm to the British people, and you’re not from this country and you’re here illegally, you should be deported.”
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has ordered a review of how article eight of the ECHR – guaranteeing the right to a family life – is interpreted, although the scope of the review has yet to be determined.
She told reporters on Monday: “We have a review underway at the moment that is looking at the application of article eight in some particular cases where we have disagreed with the conclusions that that were reached in the courts.” But she insisted that membership of the ECHR would not be on the table, claiming that the convention helps to underpin new agreements with France and Germany on shared action to combat illegal immigration.
Concerns over the right to family life
The Home Office is primarily concerned about three issues with article eight, The i Paper understands: the way that migrants living legally in Britain can use it to bring family members from abroad; its use in blocking the deportation of foreign criminals and those who entered the UK illegally; and the broader question of courts being seen to override government policy.
It is not yet clear what form any changes may take but ministers are leaving all options on the table including fresh legislation, “statutory instruments” which do not need a full vote in Parliament and can be implemented more quickly, and non-binding guidance to judges on how they should interpret the existing law.
Sam Grant of the human-rights organisation Liberty said there was “a real lack of clarity and transparency” on the Government’s plans, adding: “We are concerned about the increasing signs and direction of conversation within Labour on this.” He said that the ECHR was “one of the bedrock documents of human rights protection in this country” and urged ministers not to water it down, even selectively: “The idea that we are looking for loopholes or carveouts for certain groups is worrying.”
Few voters see ECHR as a top priority for change
Joe Twyman of Deltapoll said that while polling tends to show broad support for ECHR membership, large numbers of voters express no opinion either way on the issue and few appear to regard it as a top priority.
He told The i Paper: “If you are a strong anti-European, not just someone who voted Leave but who is actively against Europe, then you say yes because it is a proxy for your views on Europe. It is that group that has been activated recently by Reform, and the Conservatives to a lesser extent.”
Twyman suggested that Sir Keir Starmer had chosen “the least worst option” in dealing with the ECHR, by focussing on the question of “is it operating in a fair way, and is it operating in an effective way?”. He added: “The question of the ECHR is largely a distraction, because actually it is about delivery.”
A Reform spokesman said: “Reform UK are the only party prepared to do what’s necessary and that’s leave the ECHR. Labour and the Tories both now want a halfway house that solves nothing and pleases nobody. You can either leave the ECHR and deport foreign criminals or stay and watch criminals never be deported.”