The Tory Atlas, struggling to juggle human rights…


by Guest    
12:29 pm - April 25th 2010

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contribution by Lallands Peat Worrier

“To protect our freedoms from state encroachment and encourage greater social responsibility, we will replace the Human Rights Act with a UK Bill of Rights.”


That is the only reference in the 130-odd pages of the Conservative manifesto to their policy on the 1998 Act and its proposed replacement. It appears under a heading – I kid ye not – Restore Our Civil Liberties. Doesn’t it have a marvellous doublethink quality?

The two corners of the first clause do a  tremendous feat. On one hand, the Tories are apparently suggesting that the Human Rights Act stands in the way of state encroachment, hence a British Bill would be a sturdier defence.

On the other, that sniffish aside about social responsibility is doing a lot of work, puffing away heavily on the dogwhistle appeal of abolishing the Act.

The levity of the deed is what strikes me most keenly.

This isn’t a painful policy reconciliation, taking the weight of the world on their collective Conservative shoulders. In this vision, the Tory Atlas Juggles the issues, the globe in his hands no longer an unwieldy object, but a dainty gewgaw flicked and spun with dazzling prestidigitation. Our Atlas winks at the audience too, the old lecher, making great play of his legerdemain.

In their Foreign policy section, the manifesto has the bare faced cheek to claim that it will be “based on liberal Conservative principles”.

Its tempting, terrifically tempting, to write all of this off as appalling Janus-faced rubbish, dishonest and pandering at home, patronising and pious abroad. But could a plausible account be reconstructed where the Tories could consistently hold both positions cited above?

One possibility which suggests itself is the argument that the Human Rights Act doesn’t really represent human rights. It has a misleading label, cooked up by sinister New Labour types, who wanted to hoodwink the goodly public by labelling their project in domination in a positive way. For human rights enthusiasts, it is a false friend. This leads to the quaint argumentative structure that abolishing the Human Rights Act is a way of realising human rights. Plausible? Not terrifically.

A hung parliament may settle their intentions for good, of course. But we can pose some of the questions they’ll have to face right now, if they want to abolish the legally binding standards based on the European Convention evenly across Britain.

I notice that Alan Miller, the Chairman of the Scottish Human Rights Commission has a piece over at the Guardian mentioning some of them.

Devolution poses an undeniable problem to the Tory policy. Its worth being precise about how this would work. The problem isn’t the Human Rights Act itself. Even if that were repealed – its the  European Convention Rights and not the Human Rights Act simpliciter which is part of the Scotland Act. It constrains ministers, it constrains the legislature.

That being so, it seems that even if the Human Rights Act was done away with, these sections and their lawful effect would remain. So would the Tories also amend this out of the Scotland Act?

Herein the political difficulties rear their angelic heads. By trying to repeal the Act or tamper with this aspect of the devolved settlement, the Tories would prompt the Scottish Parliament’s considerable ire. Holyrood has a clear, even a resounding majority in support of the Convention rights and the Human Rights Act. What would the Tories in government do?

Ask Holyrood and abide by their wishes? Not ask Holyrood and legislate anyway?  Is that the Respect agenda in action? Alternatively, it may be that the circumstances envisioned by Alan Miller come about.

The Human Rights Act is abolished – but Scotland retains its legislative provisions on the Convention. It’d be an interesting conclusion to the inevitable debate. Owing to an understandable but loose way of talking, I think folk believe that the Scotland Act merely contains the Human Rights Act – with the latter whole enactment being more or less easily repealed at a stroke.

Not so.  If the Tories have convinced themselves that that is the case, they should disabuse themselves hastily.  The angel is in the accidental detail. 

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A longer version of this blog-post is here

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Reader comments


1. Jailhouselawyer

On the subject of human rights…

Does Liberal Conspiracy pass the Hirst test?

No surprises that that Tory spokesman Iain Dale has failed to pass this basic test.

2. V.E.Bott

Our HRA mainly gives legal force to the CoE’s Convention, as our membership requires. Maybe there are ways around that obligation, but it’ll get a lot more complicated if the EU itself joins the Council of Europe, as seems to be on the cards.

Is this going to be the issue on which Cameron gives his supporters their referendum? The amendment of the EU Charter of Rights to comply with the CoE Convention ?

3. Jailhouselawyer

@V.E.Bott: “it’ll get a lot more complicated if the EU itself joins the Council of Europe”.

I think you will find that as a result of the Lisbon Treaty, both institutions came closer together for harmony in Europe.

The UK will be in trouble with both the Council of Europe and EU on 1 June 2010 when the UK will be accused of failing to abide by the Convention and Court decisions. The penalty for both institutions is suspension or expulsion.


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. House Of Twits

    RT @libcon The Tory Atlas, struggling to juggle human rights… http://bit.ly/afB0Jj

  2. Political Tweeter

    RT @libcon: The Tory Atlas, struggling to juggle human rights… http://bit.ly/afB0Jj

  3. Malky Muscular

    When it comes to human rights, the Tories are a gaggle of barefaced, lying, fork-tongued bullshitters… http://bit.ly/c0pURd

  4. Moonbootica

    RT @MalkyMuscular: When it comes to human rights, the Tories are a gaggle of barefaced, lying, fork-tongued bullshitters… http://bit.ly/c0pURd

  5. LallandsPeatWorrier

    RT @libcon: The Tory Atlas, struggling to juggle human rights… http://bit.ly/afB0Jj

  6. ayrshirehouse

    #tories will abolish your Human Rights http://bit.ly/afB0Jj #toryfail #anotherreasonnottovotetory #snp

  7. sdv_duras

    RT @libcon: The Tory Atlas, struggling to juggle human rights… http://bit.ly/afB0Jj

  8. Liberal Conspiracy

    The Tory Atlas, struggling to juggle human rights… http://bit.ly/afB0Jj

  9. Simon Arnold

    RT @libcon: The Tory Atlas, struggling to juggle human rights… http://bit.ly/afB0Jj

  10. uberVU - social comments

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