Labour ministers are weighing reforms to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as part of a rightward shift on migration aimed at halting Reform UK’s advance, with polls showing Nigel Farage’s party opening up a double-digit lead.
According to The Sunday Times, new home secretary Shabana Mahmood is exploring options that could include changes to Britain’s relationship with the ECHR, with one source saying she would “start with the unthinkable and work backwards.” The ECHR underpins the Good Friday Agreement, but Farage has pledged to withdraw from the treaty and replace it with a British Bill of Rights that applies only to citizens and those with legal residence.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has also said she would examine the case for leaving the convention.
Mahmood, a former justice secretary, is under pressure to speed up asylum processing and reduce the reliance on hotels to house migrants. She is expected to announce that asylum seekers will be moved into barracks on former military bases, according to the Telegraph.
The government is also close to striking a new “one in, one out” returns deal with Germany, building on an agreement reached with France over the summer. Under the French deal, the UK can return one irregular migrant in exchange for accepting one claimant from France judged to have a higher chance of success.
Ministers have hailed the French deal as “game-changing”, though it will initially apply to only a small number of asylum seekers. A similar arrangement with Friedrich Merz’s German government would likely focus on migrants who transit through Germany en route to France before attempting to cross the Channel.
Farage has pledged to fight the next general election, expected in 2027, on a promise to “stop the boats” within two weeks of taking office. His party’s surge in the polls has been attributed to the vacuum left by government during the summer recess, with Reform capitalising on voter frustrations over asylum and migration policy.
Defence secretary insiders said Sir Keir Starmer was “going up a gear” as Labour seeks to reassert control of the migration debate and shore up its electoral position against Reform.
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Labour weighs human rights reform as Mahmood shifts right on migration to counter Reform UK
