Britain’s newly appointed equalities chief has triggered a political backlash after dismissing concerns about mass migration and defending the increasingly controversial European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Mary-Ann Stephenson took over this month as chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), an unelected quango with wide influence over equality and human rights policy in Britain. In her first major interviews, she urged politicians and the media to stop “demonising” migrants, arguing that describing migration as a danger to Britain makes life “very, very difficult” for migrants and ethnic minority citizens.
Stephenson dismissed growing calls to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, despite withdrawal now being backed by parties representing a large share of the electorate. Reform UK, currently leading in the polls, has pledged to withdraw from the convention, arguing it enables activist lawyers to prevent the deportation of dangerous migrants. After months of prevarication, the Conservatives later followed suit.
Her remarks mark a clear departure from the stance of her predecessor, Baroness Falkner, who warned last year that integration in Britain was failing amid record levels of legal and illegal migration.
Public concern has intensified following protests outside migrant hotels and a series of high-profile criminal cases involving asylum seekers. According to YouGov, 51 per cent of Britons now rank immigration as one of the country’s most important issues—the highest level in a decade. The asylum system currently costs taxpayers more than £5 billion a year, with over £2 billion spent housing tens of thousands of migrants in around 200 hotels nationwide. More than 1.2 million foreign nationals are now claiming Universal Credit.
Before her appointment, Stephenson had lobbied the government to abandon its “smash the gangs” strategy and called for more asylum seekers to be admitted, comparing criticism of refugees to “hostile politics” and “racist rhetoric”.
Her intervention drew a sharp response from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who said policy should prioritise British citizens. “We should deport terrorists, rapists, and serious foreign criminals,” Farage said. “The vast majority of the public agrees that the rights of the British people must come first.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out leaving the ECHR but has tried to deflect public anger over immigration, admitting earlier this year that Labour “got it wrong” and promising tougher enforcement. The appointment of a vocal opponent of tighter border controls to lead an unelected watchdog has added to perceptions of a widening gap between Britain’s governing institutions and public opinion on mass immigration.
