You’ll regret not having a Human Rights Act when a left-wing government returns

In today’s Guardian, Matthew D’Ancona warns that David Cameron may face a successful rebellion from the ‘Runnymede Tories’ if he tries to repeal the Human Rights Act, led by David Davis. Not only would that be a major blow to his authority, it would make remaining in the EU a less attractive option in the forthcoming referendum. Human Rights experts insist that the two issues are wholly separate, although that’s open to debate. But there’s no doubt they’re politically linked. In the minds of some sections of the British public, a good argument for withdrawing from the EU will be to escape the jurisdiction of the European Court – they will think that, whether it’s true or not – and Cameron will be keen to ‘break the formal link between British courts and the European Court of Human Rights’ before the first votes are cast.

I’m conflicted about this. On the one hand, I like the idea of making the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom the ultimate guarantor of our human rights rather than the European Court.