The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is taking over decisions on the climate that ought to be made at home, Britain’s energy secretary has warned.
Claire Coutinho is said to be “leading” a backlash among Conservative MPs against Britain’s membership of the convention under which the ECHR rules. This is in response to the court ruling this week that ‘weak’ climate policies violate fundamental human rights.
Coutinho said that “elected politicians”—who, in the case of the UK Conservatives, are just as committed to net zero as these Strasbourg judges—“are best placed to make those decisions,” not the ECHR.
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who is popular among Tory backbenchers, added that the court was “profoundly undemocratic.”
The European Convention on Human Rights, an international treaty to which all Council of Europe members are party (including Britain) established the European Court of Human Rights. The Strasbourg-based court is not formally a part of the European Union, but it does rule on alleged violations of the Convention that Brussels officials would also like to shut down.
Britain’s position has been in the headlines for some months due to its part in stumping Rishi Sunak’s ‘Rwanda plan’ to deter Channel crossings by sending illegal migrants to the African nation for processing.
The first flight to Rwanda was cancelled almost two years ago following a late intervention from the ECHR, and not a single migrant has been deported since.
But the government has long made it clear that, despite pledges to “revisit” the issue, it has no interest in leaving the convention. We reported towards the end of last year that the appointment of pro-EU Lord David Cameron to cabinet meant such a move was “off the table.” Several other ministers would reportedly step down from their positions were Sunak to pursue an exit.
There has been no indication since that the government’s mood has changed on this issue, even though polling suggests that half of Tory voters want Britain to leave the convention and former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has called for a referendum on the issue.
One conservative commentator said that “there might be a backlash but they won’t do anything about it.” Indeed, a report in The Times claims that Sunak will face opposition from no less than 12 cabinet ministers if he moves to alter the UK’s current relationship with the convention.
The European Conservative contacted the Foreign Office and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, both of which attempted to pass the buck to the other. Neither of these two government departments would say whether Coutinho’s comments meant the government was actively reconsidering Britain’s signing of the convention.
