10 h. ago ECHR chief is ‘absolutely ready’ to discuss changes to human rights law

The Council of Europe’s secretary general Alain Berset told the BBC he was open to engage on migration issues over the treaty.

Politics

35 h. ago How the European convention on human rights became a battleground between the centre and the right | Daniel Trilling

For 20 years, populists have been blaming the ECHR for endangering Britain by offering basic protections to immigrantsIn the latest series of Blue Lights, the BBC drama about police officers in Belfast, there’s a scene where a constable insists on staying with a mentally ill man until a nurse arrives. “This is an article two issue,” the officer tells his colleague – by which he means that under article two of the European convention on human rights (ECHR), incorporated into UK law by the 1998 Human Rights Act, the state has a duty to protect life. It is an uncontroversial example of how the ECHR, which turns 75 this week, has found its way into everyday life across the UK.In Westminster, withdrawal from the ECHR has become a new rallying cry for the right, which claims it is the solution to unauthorised migration. In early October, Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives said they want to take the UK out of the convention if they win the next election. Last week, MPs voted down a largely symb...

Events

4 d. ago Just Stop Oil activists who sprayed Stonehenge with orange powder cleared of criminal damage

They cited human rights law in their defence

Events

5 d. ago Will new Renters' Rights Bill cause your rent to go up? What tenants need to know as it passes into law

The new law, which received royal assent on Monday, introduces sweeping changes for tenants

Society

6 d. ago MPs vote down Farage’s proposal for UK to leave ECHR – UK politics live

Lib Dems say ECHR protects ‘our elderly and most vulnerable the very people who need it most’Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary and former national security adviser, goes next. He is now a peer, and a member of the committee.He says the deputy national security adviser, Matthew Collins, thought there was enough evidence for the case to go ahead. But the CPS did not agree. Who was right?In 2017, the Law Commission flagged that the term enemy [in the legislation] was deeply problematic and it would give rise to difficulties in future prosecutions.And I think what has played out, during this prosecution exemplifies and highlights the difficulties with that. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago SIMON LAMBERT: Renters in England have been given the biggest increase in their rights in a generation

The Renters' Rights Bill has become law. And that means that there are tough new restrictions on how tenants can be evicted and what landlords must do for them.

Politics

7 d. ago Six things every new tenant should do as Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law

The new legislation is intended to improve the experience of private renting in England

Society

8 d. ago Awaab’s law seeks to change the rules around renters, landlords and mould

Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old child, died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to mould in his social housing association home. The inquest into his death found that, despite repeated reports by his parents about the property’s uninhabitable conditions, their concerns were dismissed and the housing association failed to take sufficient action.

Society

2 w. ago Welsh council may cut pension ties with firms linked to Israel

'This council believes: Public sector pension fund investments in Ceredigion and across Wales should not support war crimes, human rights violations, or breaches of international law, regardless of financial returns', says a councillor's motion

Politics

2 w. ago Supreme Court could deliver ‘catastrophic’ decision on Voting Rights Act and blow up protections from racial discrimination

The court’s conservative majority could gut the landmark civil rights law — and open the door for Republicans to erase Democratic districts in the redistricting war

Events

3 w. ago Treatment of trans people in Britain could breach human rights law, warns ECHR watchdog

Michael O'Flaherty, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, has written to senior MPs to raise his concerns about trans rights in the UK.

Events

4 w. ago What will Douglas Ross' Right to Addiction Recovery Bill do as key concern raised

Douglas Ross’s proposed legislation would embed a right to recovery for those diagnosed with an addiction in law.

Politics