Conservative Chief Suggests More Agreement Exits Might Increase Removals

A future Conservative government would be willing to dismantle more global treaties as a means to deport individuals from the UK, according to a leading party figure speaking at the start of a conference centered nearly entirely on migration strategy.

Proposal to Exit Rights Treaty

Delivering the initial of a pair of addresses to the gathering in Manchester, the Tory leader formally set out her plan for the UK to quit the ECHR convention on human rights as one element of a broader bonfire of protections.

These measures include a halt to assistance for migrants and the right to take immigration rulings to courts or legal challenge.

Exiting the European convention “is a necessary step, but not enough on its own to accomplish our goals,” the leader said. “Should there are further treaties and laws we need to amend or revisit, then we shall do so.”

Potential Withdrawal from Refugee Convention

The future Tory administration would be amenable to the possibility of amending or leaving additional international agreements, she said, opening the possibility of the UK leaving the UN’s 1951 asylum convention.

The plan to leave the European convention was announced just before the event as one component of a radical and at times draconian package of immigration-control measures.

  • One pledge that all asylum seekers arriving by unofficial routes would be transferred to their home or a another nation within a week.
  • A further plan includes the creation of a “deportation force”, described as being patterned on a quasi-military immigration agency.
  • The force would have a mandate to deport 150,000 individuals a annually.

Extended Deportation Measures

In a address immediately after, the prospective home secretary declared that if a foreign national in the UK “shows racial hatred, such as prejudice, or backs extremism or violence,” they would be expelled.

This was not entirely evident if this would apply only to individuals found guilty of a crime for these behaviours. This Tory group has previously pledged to deport any UK-based foreign nationals found guilty of all but the very lesser violations.

Legal Obstacles and Funding Increase

This prospective home secretary set out aspects of the new deportation force, saying it would have twice the funding of the existing system.

The unit would be able to take advantage of the removal of numerous rights and paths of challenge for foreign nationals.

“Removing away the judicial barriers, which I have outlined, and increasing that funding enables we can deport 150,000 people a year that have zero lawful right to be here. This is three-quarters of a 1,000,000 over the duration of the next parliament.”

NI Issues and Policy Examination

This speaker noted there would be “particular challenges in Northern Ireland”, where the ECHR is embedded in the Belfast agreement.

The leader indicated she would task the prospective Northern Ireland minister “to review this matter”.

Her address included zero proposals that had not been previously revealed, with the leader repeating her mantra that the group had to learn from its 2024 electoral loss and use opportunity to develop a cohesive agenda.

The leader continued to take a swipe a previous financial plan, saying: “We will not redo the economic recklessness of spending pledges without saying where the funds is to be sourced.”

Focus on Migration and Security

A great deal of the addresses were focused on migration, with the prospective minister in especial employing large parts of his address to list a sequence of criminal acts carried out by asylum seekers.

“This is sick. We must do whatever it requires to stop this madness,” the shadow minister said.

This leader took a equally hard right tone in places, asserting the UK had “allowed the extremist religious beliefs” and that the nation “cannot bring in and tolerate values hostile to our own”.

Rebecca Peters
Rebecca Peters

Tech enthusiast and writer with a passion for exploring how emerging technologies shape our future.