West Midlands Police equipped with "long shield" riot gear of the type used at Orgreave. Handsworth, Birmingham, 1985.Flickr/West Midland police. Some rights reserved.With the general election on 8 June fast approaching, and the contest looking closer than anticipated, this article looks at the issue of human rights and civil liberties. It offers a snapshot of some key debates and areas of disagreement, with its main focus on the positions of the two major parties as set out in their manifestos and other recent announcements.
The European Convention of Human and the Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) was introduced early in the first New Labour government and had the effect of bringing the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) into domestic law, so that individuals no longer had to take their cases to the European Court of Human Rights to enforce their convention rights.
It placed a duty on public authorities in the UK to act in compliance with those rights, and allowed individuals to bring claims and public law challenges based on those rights in the domestic courts. As a result, rights have become easier to enforce – for example, some survivors of rape and sexual assault failed by authorities such as the police have been able to use the Human Rights Act to gain redress. (Although the most prominent ruling is now being appealed by the Metropolitan Police, with Theresa May’s backing.)
