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Emigration and immigration

Farage's Assault on Human Rights: A Threat to UK Democracy

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Nigel Farage's relentless opposition to immigration and asylum seekers has led to a critical attack on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), a cornerstone of international human rights law. The ECHR was crafted in the aftermath of World War II to prevent the atrocities of the Holocaust from being repeated. It enshrines fundamental rights such as the right to life, liberty, security, and family life, and protects against torture.

Key Takeaways:

  • Farage's anti-immigration rhetoric is not new, and his hostility toward the ECHR is rooted in his disdain for international co-operation and consensus.
  • The ECHR is a living document that has evolved alongside society, adapting to new conditions and protecting freedoms that most people take for granted.
  • Leaving the ECHR would not solve the asylum system or deportation cases, but would instead tear holes in the fabric of UK law and shred the country's global credibility.
  • Reform UK's proposal to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 would abolish 16 core protections, leaving the UK without a domestic human rights framework.
  • The ECHR is essential for protecting vulnerable individuals, including refugees and asylum seekers, from populists and authoritarians who seek to exploit and dehumanise them.
  • Since 1980, the European Court of Human Rights has found against the UK in only 13 removal cases, with four concerning family life.
  • More Britons have become millionaires through the National Lottery each year than foreign nationals have won human rights appeals to remain in the UK.

Statistics:

  • Only two countries in Europe are outside the ECHR: Russia and Belarus.
  • The Labour Government has begun to echo Reform's rhetoric, accepting the premise that there is "something wrong" with the ECHR and that it needs "reform" and made compliant with government objectives.
  • There have been only 13 removal cases on human rights grounds in the UK since 1980, with four of them concerning family life.
  • More than 1.5 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, and these individuals are disproportionately affected by the immigration system (Source: UK Mental Health Policy and Policy Research).
  • The Refugee Council estimates that 80% of refugees who come to the UK are asylum seekers who claim protection under the ECHR.

Sources:

  • This article cites a Getty image of the European Court of Human Rights.
  • UK Mental Health Policy and Policy Research (no date provided).
  • Refugee Council (no date provided).

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