Tory leader shifts right to counter Reform UK rise
Kemi Badenoch has announced plans to withdraw Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if the Conservatives win the next general election.
This dramatic shift, announced as Tories gathered in Manchester for the party’s annual conference, is designed to claw back support from Reform UK.
Tory leader pushes bold break
The Conservative leader said it was a decision she had “not come to lightly.”
“It is clear that it is necessary to protect our borders, our veterans and our citizens,” Badenoch said.
“Unlike other parties, we have done the serious work to develop a plan to do so.”
The ECHR, created in 1950, has long been a political flashpoint. It allows individuals to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg once domestic legal routes are exhausted – a process critics say blocks deportations and undermines national sovereignty.
Reform pressure sparks hardline turn
Badenoch’s announcement follows a bruising run in the polls, with Reform UK now leading on over 30% and the Tories languishing at 16.
The move marks another lurch to the right after she vowed this week to scrap the UK’s Climate Change Act – a promise that drew sharp criticism from business leaders, the Church of England and former prime minister Theresa May.
Her stance echoes Reform leader Nigel Farage’s call to quit the ECHR, leaving the UK aligned only with Russia and Belarus outside the convention.
Party and legal backlash
Former justice minister Lord Wolfson, who chaired a Tory commission reviewing international treaties, concluded that leaving the ECHR was “legally and practically possible.”
He said the treaty placed “significant constraints” on border control and veterans’ policy, and that alternatives such as renegotiation or derogation would be “ineffective.”
Labour condemned Badenoch’s plan as “reckless and politically desperate,” accusing her of bowing to internal pressure from hardliners and defectors to Reform.
“This is a decision that has been forced on her and not thought through,” a Labour spokesperson said.
“While the Tories and Reform fight amongst themselves, this Labour Government is cracking down on people-smuggling gangs and deporting foreign criminals.”
Risks of isolation
Legal experts warned that quitting the convention could strain Britain’s global standing, jeopardise the Good Friday Agreement, and erode postwar commitments to human rights.
Still, Badenoch’s gamble may energise the Tory base.
As her party’s right-wing demands tougher stances on immigration and sovereignty, the Conservative leader appears ready to test how far Britain is willing to go to “take back control” once again.
