Leaving the ECHR isn’t some fringe fantasy – it’s the next phase of Britain’s post-Brexit drift into isolation and unchecked power. Rejoiners should recognise it as another break from the European consensus we helped build. But it’s not just about Europe – it’s about you. Whether you lean left, right, or you’re still on the fence, this is your warning – the rights they’re dismantling aren’t just for migrants or criminals. They are yours too. And once they’re gone, there’s no one left to appeal to.

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙐𝙆 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝘾𝙃𝙍?

Well, let’s not pretend this is about sovereignty. It’s about impunity. Because it’s the last thing standing between them and unchecked power.

The European Court of Human Rights is that deeply inconvenient body that says – shock, horror – you can’t just lock up autistic people without trial. You can’t ban gays from serving in the army. You can’t spy on your population en masse, deny justice to Hillsborough families, or let police walk away after failing domestic abuse victims. You can’t deport a man to be tortured just because he didn’t fill in form X in triplicate. You know… basic decency. In short, it’s a pain in the arse for authoritarians in suits.

So naturally, the British hard right sees this as a threat. Not to the country – but to themselves. Because it turns out that when you’re flogging nationalism to the masses while handing contracts to your donors and waving through state overreach, the last thing you want is a supranational court saying, “Actually, that’s illegal.”

Reform UK’s take? Bulldoze it. Farage has all but tattooed “Leave the ECHR or Britain dies” on his forehead. It’s his new Brexit. Simpler, nastier, and with even fewer facts attached. It’s not about national sovereignty – it’s about the freedom to punish without consequences.

And the Tories? They’re whispering the same thing while doing their best impression of Serious Legal Minds. Kemi Badenoch’s set up a “lawfare” commission to decide whether we should bin the ECHR? Translation: “We’ve already decided, but want a white paper to hide behind”.

Robert Jenrick says the Tories will die unless they commit to quitting it. Which is weird, since most people thought they were dying because of corruption, cronyism, and burning the country for sport – but sure, blame the court that defends our rights.

They call it “foreign interference”. We call it “not being ruled by bastards”.

The real irony? The ECHR isn’t even an EU institution – it was set up by Churchill’s government after WWII, precisely to stop nations sleepwalking back into authoritarianism. But try explaining that to a Reform voter convinced that asylum seekers are lurking in every box of imported Belgian chocolate, or a Tory backbencher who thinks habeas corpus is Latin for ‘send them back’.

This isn’t about principle. It’s about power. The power to strip rights from you, without the bother of you having anywhere to appeal. Because the wealthy already have legal armour. You? You’ve got the ECHR. For now.

So next time someone parrots the line about “taking back control”, maybe ask – control for whom, exactly?

EDIT – this is for Rejoiners…

It’s vital to understand that leaving the ECHR wouldn’t just gut individual rights – it would also torpedo any future attempt to rejoin the EU. Membership of the Convention is a non-negotiable requirement for all EU states. Walk away from it now, and we don’t just burn bridges – we lock the gates behind us.

– Article 6(3) TEU makes ECHR adherence mandatory

– Leaving would signal a rejection of core EU legal values

– It would collapse judicial cooperation (extradition, data sharing, mutual recognition of rulings)

– Brussels would see the UK as unstable and even more untrustworthy than it does at present

– It would hand a gift to far-right, anti-democratic governments inside the EU (like Hungary’s), who would point to the UK as proof that you can abandon rights commitments and still expect trade and cooperation.

So yes – it matters greatly, if you care about returning to Europe. This kills that prospect stone dead.