Nigel Farage vows to scrap UK human rights law to tackle small boats crisis
Nigel Farage has vowed to scrap the UK’s human rights law in a bid to tackle the small boats crisis.
The Reform UK leader pledged to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, scrap the Human Rights Act, and disapply other international agreements he described as “roadblocks” to deporting people who arrive in the UK illegally.
Mr Farage, whose party has sought to gain from public dissatisfaction with how both Labour and the Tories have handled the migrant crisis, will set out his plans to grasp it on Tuesday.
Writing for the Telegraph, he described international treaties governing human rights law as “malign influences” which had been “allowed to frustrate deportations”.
He added: “The planes will take off, and plenty of them at that.
“The time has come to put this country first. This is all a question of priorities. Is Keir Starmer on the side of the British people, national security and protecting women and girls – or is he on the side of outdated international treaties and human rights lawyers?”
British Bill
Speaking to the Times, senior Reform UK figure Zia Yusuf had earlier claimed the party would replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights.
This would apply to British citizens and those who have a legal right to live in the UK, while enabling arrests, detention and deportation of illegal migrants.
The Bill would refer to individual liberties like protection of liberty and free speech, the Times said, rather than human rights.
Mr Farage told the newspaper it would include “the freedom to do everything, unless there’s a law that says you can’t”.
Under Reform’s plans, those who come to the UK on small boats and other unauthorised routes would have no right to claim asylum in the UK.
The party is to suggest housing them in detention facilities at old military bases.
Reform would also seek to strike return deals with the largest countries of origin for asylum seekers, as well as discussing third country deportation arrangements with nations like Rwanda and Albania.
A “fallback” option could also include deporting people to British overseas territories.
Sir Keir Starmer is meanwhile facing mounting pressure over his plans to tackle the small boats crisis.
A record 28,288 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats this year so far, after 212 people did so on Sunday in four boats, making the total 46% more than by the same date in 2024.
Crisis
A YouGov poll for The Times meanwhile found that 71% of voters believe the Prime Minister is handling the asylum hotel issue badly, including 56% of Labour supporters.
Home Office minister Angela Eagle told the Guardian both Reform and the Tories offered nothing more than “fantasy solutions” to the crisis.
“These are back-of-the-fag-packet plans without the substance on delivery,” she said ahead of Mr Farage’s announcement on Tuesday.
A Government source meanwhile told the paper that “by the end of the year at least five more hotels are expected to be closed, with a big surge in closures in the new year”.
Protests at sites housing asylum seekers continued over the weekend and the Government is braced for further legal fights over the use of hotels.
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He cannot without removing the rights of every single person in the UK, huge cost and starting wars with other countries. This will not happen, he lies again. This is what he did with brexit. Stoke hate and fear for something that is not as bad as he says.
Don’t worry. Here comes the British Bill of (No) Rights again.
Yeah, three parts of sod all use but nige can lob you in jail if you look at him funny.
Problem is the World has other idea’s. Apart from the small club of UK , NK, Russia and Belarus that we will be part off, no one else will trust us. Probably the US by then as well.
Sounds like intent to murder the boat migrants. It is murder if they are not carrying weapons.
It will be murder and violent abuse when people are sent back to death and torture and rape.
Not forgetting his attitude will be if you are mistakenly swept up by his goons, acceptable losses.
This won’t change the numbers of small boat crossings because it’s only relevant to removing those whose asylum application is unsuccessful.
But it will take away our human right to free speech. Perhaps that’s what his billionaire backers really want.
Exactly what his Russian billionaire bosses want.
How is this not plainly obvious??
There is no need to withdraw from the provisions of ECHR. The Westminster legislation, Human Rights Act, is a poorly drafted piece of legislation, full of holes and as a result the judiciary has over-reached the provisions to which it seeks to apply. Important to note that all of the ‘small boats’ that cross the English channel are from France, a country that also adheres to the provisions of ECHR. Blaming Europe fro British failure instead of addressing genuine concerns.
If the human rights act needs to be reviewed and revised, how is scrapping it going to uphold our human rights and dignity?
People forget that the ECHR is not just about migrants, it was designed to protect all of our rights, from fair trial to freedom from torture. It was Churchill who championed it after the second world war to stop political extremism taking hold in Europe again, yet Faragists act as if it somehow undermines British sovereignty. Only two countries in Europe are outside the ECHR: Russia and Belarus. I don’t want to be in that company. Leaving would be an even bigger constitutional headache than Brexit, especially in Northern Ireland where the Good Friday Agreement relies on it. And Brexiteers… Read more »
The HRA act that incorporated the ECHR into UK law in 1998 was a noble idea (led by Cherie Blair). It always felt a little bit pointless as people in the UK already had swathes of rights but, y’know, higher ideals etc and all that. Unfortunately it’s been a classic case of the law of unintended consequences – the HRA has been used by the very worst of humanity to remain in the UK, backed by a gaggle of human rights lawyers earning huge fees, not to mention the millions we all pay in funding the legal aid that underpins… Read more »
There’s no written constitution so how do you know for sure what rights you have.
How many cases has it affected?
And which rights that it holds up do you want to lose?
It’s a myth that the Human Rights Act is just a tool for “the worst of humanity.” The vast majority of cases involve ordinary people, from protecting press freedom and privacy to holding police accountable in domestic violence cases or fighting unfair care home closures. Yes, it sometimes applies to criminals too, but that’s the whole point of universal rights: they protect everyone, not just the people we like. And crucially, the HRA does not prevent prosecutions; criminals are still held accountable under UK law. If an immigrant commits a serious offences, they can be prosecuted and deported under existing… Read more »
Fixation, fixation on immigration above all else. Isn’t that what happened with the Nazis regarding the Jews? No matter what he says to the contrary Reform’s policies are forcing us down a similar road. The UK must wake up now and stop this escalating.