Kemi Badenoch is expected to announce a plan this weekend to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if the Conservatives win the next election, in a move calculated to stem the loss of support to Reform UK. The Tory leader's stance has hardened since last autumn, when she said leaving the treaty would not be a 'silver bullet' for tackling immigration.
The announcement, due in a speech at the party's Manchester conference on Sunday, follows a shadow cabinet meeting on Friday. Despite private concerns from some moderate Tories that such a decision could force them out, Badenoch is understood to have signed off on the plan. Russia and Belarus are the only other European countries to have opted out of the ECHR.
In a blow to Badenoch on the eve of conference, former Tory MP Sarah Atherton defected to Reform UK, saying the Conservatives 'had promised strength but delivered weakness'. Centrist Tory MPs have largely kept their concerns private to avoid worsening the party's dire poll ratings. One said: 'Given where we are I'm not speaking out against it.' Another added it was 'difficult to argue against' given the circumstances.
Several Tories who previously opposed leaving the ECHR, warning of the impact on the Good Friday agreement and the UK's international reputation, now appear to have changed their minds. One MP said: 'The ECHR is failing us all. Europe needs a new convention on asylum and immigration to cope with the world of 2025.' Another added: 'When people perceive international agreements as stopping governments doing things they voted them in for – democracy comes first.'
A Labour source said: 'This is a desperate grab for relevance by the Conservatives, who are following Reform off the cliff edge in offering unworkable solutions that are against Britain's national interest.' A Conservative party spokesperson said: 'No decision has been taken. Kemi Badenoch will take a decision in consultation with her cabinet and that is happening on Friday.'
The ECHR, established in 1950, sets out rights and freedoms for people in the 46 signatory countries of the Council of Europe. Critics have focused on Article 3, which protects against inhuman or degrading treatment, and Article 8, which protects the right to private and family life. During the Conservative leadership election, Badenoch argued that leaving the ECHR would not solve the UK's problems, while rival Robert Jenrick said the party would 'die' if it argued to stay in.
