Leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHRˮ) and repealing the Human Rights Act (“HRAˮ) would set off a chain of serious problems at home and abroad.

It would:

• Reduce the power of ordinary people to protect their everyday rights when using public services.

• Jeopardise peace in Northern Ireland by threatening the Good Friday Agreement.

• Restrict cross-border cooperation with the EU and Council of Europe on crime, migration and the Ukraine war.

• Create years of legal uncertainty and government time to re-work hundreds of statutes, codes and policies: causing huge amounts of litigation and leaving public bodies unclear of their public duties.

• Undermine the UKʼs position as a reliable rules-based international partner by making us the first democracy to ever leave the ECHR and Council of Europe.

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Protecting Ordinary Peopleʼs Rights

The ECHR and HRA are part of this countryʼs safety net and democratic foundations: they protect the rights of ordinary people every day across the UK, including:

• Victims of rape & serious violence: Article 3 (torture/ inhuman or degrading treatment) meant victims of “black cab rapistˮ John Worboys could hold the police accountable for failing to properly investigate, prompting better protections for rape victims going forward.

• Patient safety & suicide risk: Article 2 (right to life) now ensures reasonable steps must betaken to protect vulnerable psychiatric patients who are a suicide risk.

• Bereaved families: Article 2 and 3 provide families justice and accountability when the state fails them by requiring robust inquests and inquiries into public tragedies like Hillsborough and Grenfell.

• Free speech: Article 10 has protected journalistsʼ rights to publish public interest information and protect sources (Sunday Times v UK, Financial Times v UK, Miranda) and ensured the public can protest wrongdoing (Reclaim These Streets vigil following Sarah Everardʼs murder).

• Privacy rights: The ECtHR found that bulk state surveillance did not have sufficient safeguards to protect the publicʼs privacy rights or the rights of journalists (Articles 8 & 10).

• Service personnel: The ban on gay people serving in the armed forces was reversed following an Article 8 (privacy and family life) claim by LGBT+ RAF personnel to challenge their discharge because of their sexuality.

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Background: What is the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)?

The ECHR is a treaty which the UK helped design following the horrors of World War II. It sets rights (life, liberty, fair trial, free expression, non-discrimination, etc.) which must be protected. The Human Rights Act has meant that most human rights cases are resolved quickly by UK judges in domestic courts and UK public authorities have a duty to uphold ECHR rights. The European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHRˮ) is a backstop court, which can only be applied to after domestic legal proceedings finish. The ECtHR shows significant deference to UK courts: out of 1000 ECtHR decisions finding a human rights violation in 2024, only 1 was against the UK(brought by the publisher of the Daily Mail). On the rare instances the ECtHR has ruled against the UK, it has upheld press freedom, improved surveillance safeguards and protected victims of trafficking.

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The Union, devolution and Northern Ireland

The Good Friday Agreement promises complete ECHR incorporation into UK law. The only practical way to uphold this obligation is through the HRA and ECHR membership for the whole of the UK. The ECHR is also hard-wired into Scottish and Welsh devolution settlements.

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Migration & deportation

• The ECHR recognises the important public interest in deporting serious foreign criminals. For Article 8 cases, people must demonstrate removal would be not just harsh but “unduly harshˮ on themselves or their children. Those with prison sentences over 4 years must show “very compelling circumstances".

• This means the ECHR only rarely prevents the deportation of foreign offenders, such as when tearing apart the family would be extremely harsh on a child. There have been more lottery millionaires made each year than foreign national offenders win a human rights appeal to stay in the UK (364 lottery winners vs. around 130 successful Tribunal appeals per year).

• Leaving the ECHR would make it harder to enforce immigration control by undermining the UKʼs cooperation with other countries on cross-border issues. For instance, the recent UK France returns agreement requires the UK to remain a party to the ECHR.

• Leaving the ECHR would not remove our obligations under the Refugee Convention or the UN Convention Against Torture. Withdrawing from all such conventions risks the UKʼs reputation as a reliable international partner and further de-stabilising an uncertain world.

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UK leadership and credibility

All Council of Europe members must be signatories to the ECHR; staying in keeps the UK influential and credible with European partner states, allowing it to work on cross-border issues such as crime and terrorism.