Amidst the U-turns, if there is one thing on which Labour has remained almost rock-solid until now, it is human rights and the UK’s continued participation in the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights). But even here things are changing.
ECHRexit, like Brexit once did, looks increasingly respectable
On Saturday, a group of Red Wall Labour members, led by Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash, broke ranks and publicly called for the government to do something to stop ECHR being used to stymie the removal of criminals and other undesirables from the UK. They said that ‘huge numbers’ of others in Labour supported them. Even if that is an exaggeration, this is still very significant.
At this stage, it must be admitted that the initiative is pretty quixotic. The suggestion being made, as far as can be seen, is that ‘new guidance’ should be issued to the courts about applying the ECHR. This sounds plausible, but a moment’s thought shows it cannot fly.
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