There comes a point in politics where you have to stop dancing around a problem and deal with it head on. On the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), we have reached that point.
For too long, Governments of all colours have promised to get tough on illegal immigration, restore order in our communities, and stand up for law abiding people. Yet time and again, those promises have been frustrated by the ECHR, which allows endless legal challenges and blocks decisive action.
Kemi Badenoch has been clear: if we are serious about protecting our borders and restoring public confidence, we need to leave the ECHR.
Of course, people rightly point to the crisis in the Channel. The British public are fed up with illegal crossings and the failure to remove those with no right to be here. Leaving the ECHR will help us rebuild a proper deterrent and finally take control of the system. But this issue goes much wider than the boats.
We saw this most clearly with the Rwanda scheme, which was designed to act as a deterrent and stop the boats, but was repeatedly blocked by legal challenges rooted in the ECHR.
Across the country, many communities feel that the rules are not applied fairly. One long standing example is the behaviour of a small minority within the traveller community, who set up unauthorised encampments and then use legal protections to resist eviction. We have seen examples of this in recent years here in Fylde, including on Lytham Green, at Park View, and near Singleton.
Too many people are forced to tolerate this, while the police and local authorities are left powerless, with offenders hiding behind the ECHR as cover for their illegal activities. That is not fair, and it is not sustainable.
That is why Conservatives will back the police with stronger powers: the ability to remove travellers at the request of landowners, and to ban them from returning indefinitely. We will make it a clear offence to trespass with a vehicle after being directed to leave, and we will scrap the current rules that prevent action if no alternative site is available.
Crucially, these are powers we can only fully deliver by leaving the ECHR, giving us the freedom to go further than previous Governments ever could.
This is part of a wider plan to take back our streets and restore a sense of order and fairness. Because human rights should protect the law abiding majority, not be used as a shield for those who break the rules.
For me, this comes down to a simple principle. Laws passed in this country should be applied in this country. Parliament should be sovereign, and enforcement should mean something.
If we want to rebuild trust in politics, we have to show that we are prepared to act. Leaving the ECHR is not about abandoning rights. It is about restoring balance, common sense, and accountability.
