In a speech at the Conservative conference earlier this month, party leader Kemi Badenoch pledged to withdraw the UK from the ECHR if elected to government as a strategy to cut down on immigration. This was a policy she had previously rejected when proposed by her leadership rival Robert Jenerick, taking to X to warn us that “Easy answers today just mean bigger problems tomorrow.” However, in a change of heart, she has positioned herself as an advocate for leaving the agreement, describing it as vital in “controlling our borders and strengthening our economy.” The international treaty was signed by 46 countries after WW2 to prevent abuses of human rights, such as freedom of expression, assembly, religion, and prohibiting torture and discrimination. Crucially for the conservatives, it also includes restrictions on deporting refugees to third world countries – a point of tension between the party and the ECHR in recent years.
In 2022, it was the ECHR that blocked the implementation of the government's plan to relocate refugees to Rwanda, stopping the first flight until asylum seekers had the chance to have their cases heard by the court. The Conservative leader’s pledge followed the results of a review by a Conservative lawyer which found that the ECHR was blocking migration reform and placing “significant restraints” on deporting illegal immigrants. Discontent with the convention has been on the rise among the party, along with a heightened emphasis on cutting down immigration, with Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip claiming that “dangerous foreign criminals routinely use it to stay in the UK.” Previous opposers to the withdrawal have also voiced their opposition to the ECHR following the conference, including former Conservative leadership candidate Penny Mordaunt.
However, Badenoch has made it clear that her government’s efforts to reduce the number of overseas residents. Her conference speech included a proposal of a new agency modelled off ICE in the US in order to carry out a mass deportation of 150,000 migrants. The speech did not offer any indication of where they would be deported to.
When asked this question in an interview with the BBC she simply responded “it doesn’t matter, all that matters is they should not be here.” These promises come at a historic low point for the party, polling at only 16% compared to Reform’s 34%. A recent Yougov poll concluded only 11% of British voters think they are fit to govern and are expected to win only seats at next general election. Badenoch’s speech was not delivered to a roaring crowd.
Instead images from the conference show rows of empty seats and one attendee likened it to “being at a wake.” A Labour spokesperson has criticised this policy change over the ECHR, suggesting it was motivated by the party’s decline, calling Badenoch “too weak to stand up to her own party in the face of Reform.” Concerns have also been circulating within the Conservatives. Former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve was among them, saying “I think it is a death wish for the Conservatives to essentially make them the same as Reform and making them indistinguishable.” Leaving the ECHR has also been criticised as a threat to human rights in the UK more widely with warnings that could open the gates for violations of other freedoms protected under the agreement. A statement from Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, following Badenoch’s announcement, noted “we should all be very cautious of politicians who try to take away the very rights that hold politicians themselves to account.” Further emphasising the roles the agreement has played in delivering justice for victims, upholding freedom of speech and expression.
Polling also suggests very little appetite from British voters for leaving the treaty, with only 27% in favour of a full withdrawal in a poll from June this year. This raises the question over whether Kemi Badenoch’s change of heart over the ECHR was motivated by the interests of the British people or rather the growing pressure Reform’s success is putting on the Conservative Party to respond to growing hostility towards migrants.