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Kemi Badenoch has announced that a Conservative government under her leadership would pull the UK out the European convention on human rights.

The decision marks a rightward shift for the Conservative party, who are striving to halt a loss of support to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. The Reform leader has long been a opponent of the ECHR and has pledged to withdraw from it if he takes office as prime minister.

The Leader's Announcement

She stated on Friday night that she had “not come to this decision lightly, but it is evident that it is necessary to protect our borders, our ex-service personnel and our citizens”.

Debates For and Against Leaving the ECHR

Opponents of the ECHR claim it frustrates the authorities' attempts to address illegal migration and remove foreign criminals.

Others argue that pulling out of the agreement would damage the UK’s international reputation and breach the Good Friday agreement, which ended decades of conflict in Northern Ireland. Only Russia and Belarus are the sole European nations that are not signatories.

Assessment Findings

The announcement comes after the conclusion of a extensive study by David Wolfson, the opposition legal chief, which found that the convention “imposes major limits on the government” across a variety of fields, including border control.

Lord Wolfson deemed other alternatives, such as renegotiating or derogating from the agreement, “either unrealistic or ineffective”.

He argued that withdrawal was compatible with the 1998 peace deal and the Windsor framework negotiated by the former prime minister to ease trade after leaving the EU.

Conservative Statement

The Conservative party commented: “Unlike Reform UK, who have made slapdash announcements with no consideration of the implications and no plan to implement them, the Tories have done the serious work to explore the juridical and operational factors required to withdraw from the convention in an orderly manner.”

Context on the European Convention

This human rights treaty was established in 1950 and sets out the rights and freedoms individuals can claim in the 46 signatory countries of the European body. It is a key component of Britain's rights legislation and has been invoked to halt attempts to deport individuals who are considered to be in the UK illegally.

Major Issues

Its critics highlighted problems with Article Three, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment, and Article Eight, which safeguards the privacy and family rights, arguing that they are being interpreted too broadly by judges and prevent lawful removals.

Individuals and countries can only make an application to the Strasbourg court once they have exhausted every domestic route.

Leadership Contest Context

During the Tory leadership race previously, membership of the ECHR became a key difference between the two candidates. She claimed that withdrawal would not resolve the UK’s problems, while Jenrick said his the Conservatives would “die” if it supported remaining.