Human Rights Act

Earlier this month the UK saw an election, as you probably know. Now that Conservatives have been voted in, what does that mean for the Human Rights Act? According to the Conservative manifesto, the party plans to abolish the Human Rights Act – something they’ve been calling for since it was instated in 1998 – and replacing it with a British Bill of Rights.

The manifesto gives the impression that this is going to be a straightforward process and will cut the formal link between British courts and the European court of human rights. This means we will have more control of such matters in the UK. Members of the party have expressed they would like to see even further action taken and withdraw completely from the European convention on human rights. If this happens it could mean expulsion from the Council of Europe and possibly from the EU, leading to further negative consequences.

Before the election David Cameron was believed to have said that the more he looked into scrapping the Human Rights Act, he realised the how complicated it will be. If Conservatives decide to move forward with the new British Bill of Rights, it will take a long time. And that’s without mentioned the full-scale revolt from opposition – particularly from the Lib Dems.

We for one strongly believe in the Human Rights Act and would hate to see it go. What are your thoughts? Join us for further discussions on @Ogarras