Labour's Human Rights Conundrum: A Complicated Past and a Uncertain Future

In his first summit as Prime Minister, Keir Starmer reaffirmed his commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), stating that his government would operate "with a profound respect for international law". This stance contrasts sharply with the views of his predecessors, including William Jowitt, who served as Lord Chancellor from 1945 to 1951 and expressed revulsion towards the ECHR, calling its provisions "so vague and woolly that it may mean almost anything".

Key Takeaways:

• The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was initially seen as a tool to constrain socialist policies in the UK, with key British advocates being right-wing conservatives who wanted to limit the socialistic excesses of the Attlee Government.
• The Labour Government signed the Convention in 1950, but treated it as a declaratory document and made no effort to introduce implementing or incorporating legislation, removing some of the most objectionable clauses, including protection of private property rights.
• After Labour lost the 1951 election, the Conservative Government approved the re-insertion of these anti-socialist provisions in 1952, which were later used by capitalists to sue Labour Governments for their policies.
• The ECHR has been a contentious issue within the Labour Party, with some members advocating for a rethink of Britain's ties to the Convention, including temporarily suspending membership or decoupling from the European Court of Human Rights' interpretations.
• Former Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett proposed temporarily suspending membership to clear the backlog of asylum seekers, while Jack Straw argued that Britain should "decouple" itself from the European Court of Human Rights' interpretations.
• Labour MP Graham Stringer has proposed leaving the Convention altogether, while Prime Minister Starmer has expressed a continued commitment to the ECHR, which he credits as his "lode star" while at university.
• Starmer's government will need to decide whether to remain tied to the human rights revolution or return to its older principles of national sovereignty, economic planning, and democratic self-rule.

Statistics:

• 1950: Labour Government signed the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
• 1951: Labour lost the general election, and the Conservative Government approved the re-insertion of anti-socialist provisions in 1952
• 1998: New Labour introduced the Human Rights Act 1998, embracing the ECHR, but this was in the context of globalization, the Thatcherite neoliberal consensus, and the death of socialist political economy within the Labour Party
• 2022: Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirmed Labour's commitment to the ECHR

Sources:

• "The European Convention on Human Rights" by Marco Duranti and Sanjit Nagi
• "The Human Rights Act 1998" by Andrew Moravcsik
• "The Labour Government and the ECHR" by Richard Johnson
• Original text by Richard Johnson