Clegg’s coup

Libya is not the only scene of conflict today. Nick Clegg has just won a powerful victory over the Conservatives, appointing a Bill of Rights commission which is certain to leave the ECHR intact. When you see the names Philippe Sands, Helena Kennedy and Lord Lester on the list — even alongside Tories — you know that this review is over before it has begun. Clegg is a firm believer in Europe, and has played his hand very well — outmanoeuvering the Conservatives who thought that a British Bill of Rights should supplant edicts from Strasbourg.

Upshot: there may still be a Bill of Rights, containing various declarations inserted by the Tories on the panel. But what the BoR says will matter not one jot. You can bet that Kennedy et al will make sure that any BoR is junior to the ECHR and capable of being overruled by Strasbourg in every respect.