‘My government will bring forward proposals for a British bill of rights’, was all the Queen had to say in her speech today about the abolition of the Human Rights Act. No legislation, just proposals. It was the moment the Conservative government bottled it and reneged on their manifesto promise.
The hard reality of having a majority of 12 is that only six members of parliament have to vote against legislation for it to fall. It is likely that at least six Tory MPs would vote against abolition, and probably many more.
The biggest problem with the Tory proposals – even those who think the Human Rights Act should be reformed – is that a British bill of rights would also mean withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights. If that were to happen all sorts of British constitutional treaties would unravel.
The government basically decided that it would concentrate on other reforms, and by goodness there are a lot of them. There were 21 bills announced in the Queen’s Speech including major devolution to the regions, a renegotiation of the settlement with Wales and Scotland, and an in-out referendum on the European Union. The Tories will also find civil rights activists up in arms over the various proposed laws to intercept communications and deal with extremism.
You can see why having a fight over the Human Rights Act – and the ECHR – was a step too far. It is not as if this is the first time a British bill of rights has been on the table. The last parliament was dogged by committees and commissions on the subject. The QCs Philippe Sands and Helena Kennedy wrote about their experiences of being on the first commission for the London Review of Books.
But it is a totem of right wing Tories, and their supporters in places like the Daily Mail, who argue Europe is stopping us dealing with our own affairs, particularly in criminal justice. Michael Gove, the scourge of liberal opinion, was appointed secretary of state for justice ostensibly to push abolition through. Kicking this bill into the long grass is an affront to him and his power as well.
But it was always going to be a struggle. It was not only Liberal Democrats in the last parliament who were against abolishing the Human Rights Act if it meant coming out of the European Convention on Human Rights. There were prominent liberal Tories who said they would be likely to vote against too, included the former attorney general Dominic Grieve who was heaved out of his post in the last parliament for being too critical of his own government’s policy.
In a speech he gave at University College London in December of last year he warned of the consequences of leaving the ECHR. ‘Such a course may be strictly lawful, but its practical consequences are likely to be as devastating both for ourselves domestically as it will be for the future of the convention’, he said.
He warned as that it would upset the constitution of the United Kingdom and agreements with Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland which rely heavily on the convention for their legitimacy.
David Davis, a prominent Eurosceptic also came out against leaving the convention, using the argument that it would undermine human rights in other countries, not just Britain
‘I’m afraid we will come into conflict with the European court and I don’t want us to leave it. If we leave, it’s an excuse for everyone else to leave. So I think that could be quite an interesting argument, come the day. I think it is more likely there will be an argument over that than over Europe,” he told the Hull Daily Mail.
It is also likely that any bill would have a rocky ride through the House of Lords which no longer has a Tory majority. Although they are not supposed to vote down anything which is in the manifesto, the manifesto never mentioned pulling out of the ECHR. That means that peers would oppose any such radical measure.
And there was no comfort from anyone else. The Scottish National party and Labour are united in opposing any legislation. Lord Falconer made it clear in an interview with the Guardian that the Labour party was against it and the SNP has warned of the danger to the Scottish settlement .
Although a deal might eventually be struck with the Democratic Unionist party, the last port of call for right wing Tories, there are many more immediate problems in Northern Ireland. The rejection of the Welfare Reform Bill has plunged Stormont, and the DUP, into a constitutional crisis of its own.
Even though the Human Rights Act is safe for now, we are going to see many, many arguments about our constitution over the next weeks and months. It is a real danger for the Tory party that they will become bogged down and beleaguered by unleashing these debates, where identity and conscience may be more important than party loyalty.
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Sally Gimson is a journalist and Labour councillor in the London borough of Camden. She writes the PMQs on Progress column and tweets @SallyGimson
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