Let's talk ECHR
Ok let's talk about the basic human rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – rights such as the right to life, the prohibition of torture and slavery, the right to a fair trial, personal liberty, privacy, freedom of expression, and protection from discrimination. These are not abstract or optional; they are the foundations that stop a government, police or courts from abusing power.
Removing or weakening the UK’s commitment to the ECHR would mean removing the legal safeguards that allow ordinary people to challenge the state if their rights are violated. That includes wrongful arrest, unlawful surveillance, or mistreatment by authorities. The ECHR is also what enables people to seek justice when domestic systems fail, such as survivors of state neglect, disabled people denied support, families affected by unlawful detention, or soldiers sent to war without proper equipment.
Reform or replacement is often presented as harmless, but in practice it means rewriting or removing rights altogether. The proposed “British Bill of Rights” already demonstrated this, as it would have made it significantly harder for people to enforce their rights, especially the most vulnerable. Without the ECHR, the government could limit rights based on political convenience, rather than universal protection.
The UK helped draft the ECHR after the atrocities of World War II specifically to prevent governments from being able to change rights on a whim. Dropping it would be a step backwards from the principle that rights belong to everyone simply because they are human, not because the government chooses to allow them.
Sources:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/what-european-convention-human-rights
https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/fundamental/echr/
#voting #politics #reform #community #humanrights
Alt Text:
A screenshot of a tweet. The tweet is from a verified user who has a profile picture of a bearded man set against an outdoor background. The tweet reads: “Nigel Farage wants to take these human rights away from you. Which of them don't you want?” Below the tweet is a list titled “The ECHR rights:” followed by the numbered rights: 1. Respect human rights 2. Right to life 3. Prohibition of torture 4. Prohibition of slavery 5. Right to liberty and security 6. Right to a fair trial 7. No punishment without law 8. Right to respect for private and family life 9. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion 10. Freedom of expression 11. Freedom of assembly and association 12. Right to marry 13. Right to effective remedy (if your rights are violated) 14. Prohibition of discrimination. The timestamp shows 10:30 on 29 Oct 25 and the tweet has 14.7K views.
