Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has indicated that a future Tory government would be open to withdrawing from additional international treaties to increase deportations, as she addressed the party's conference in Manchester. Speaking at the event, which has focused heavily on immigration, Badenoch said leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was a necessary step but not sufficient on its own, hinting that the UK could also exit the UN Refugee Convention.
Badenoch formally set out plans to quit the ECHR and repeal the Human Rights Act, following a review by Shadow Attorney General Lord Wolfson, who concluded that leaving the treaty was the only feasible way to gain border control. She stated that the next Conservative manifesto would include a commitment to withdraw from the ECHR, though she acknowledged particular challenges in Northern Ireland, where the convention is part of the Good Friday Agreement.
The announcement came alongside a broader package of anti-migration measures, including a pledge to send all asylum seekers arriving by unofficial means to their home country or a third country within a week. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp detailed plans for a 'removals force' modelled on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, with a budget double that of the current system and a target of deporting 150,000 people annually.
Philp also said that foreign nationals expressing racial hatred, including antisemitism, or supporting extremism or terrorism would be deported. However, it was unclear whether this would apply only to those convicted of a crime. The party has already pledged to deport any foreign national convicted of all but the most minor offences.
Badenoch criticised the previous government's financial irresponsibility, referencing Liz Truss's mini-budget, and stressed the need for the party to learn from its 2024 election defeat. She argued that the UK had 'tolerated radical Islamist ideology' and could not 'import and tolerate values hostile to our own,' adopting a hard-right tone throughout her address.
