Conservative Leader Suggests More Treaty Withdrawals Might Boost Deportations

Any upcoming Tory administration could be willing to dismantle additional global treaties as a means to remove people from the UK, according to a key political official speaking at the start of a conference focused almost exclusively on immigration strategy.

Proposal to Leave Human Rights Convention

Delivering the initial of a pair of speeches to the assembly in Manchester, the Tory head formally outlined her plan for the UK to quit the European treaty on human rights as part of a broader removal of protections.

These steps involve an end to assistance for foreign nationals and the ability to take migration decisions to tribunals or judicial review.

Leaving the ECHR “represents a necessary move, but insufficient on its own to achieve our objectives,” the leader said. “Should there are other agreements and regulations we need to revise or reconsider, then we shall do so.”

Possible Withdrawal from Refugee Convention

A future Conservative government could be amenable to the possibility of amending or leaving other global treaties, the leader explained, opening the possibility of the UK leaving the UN’s 1951 refugee convention.

This proposal to leave the ECHR was revealed just before the conference as part of a radical and at times draconian set of anti-migration measures.

• A commitment that every asylum seekers coming by irregular means would be transferred to their home or a another country within a week.
• A further initiative includes the creation of a “removals unit”, described as being modelled on a quasi-military border agency.
• This unit would have a remit to remove 150,000 people a year.

Expanded Removal Policies

During a address directly after, the shadow interior minister declared that should a foreign national in the UK “shows bigotry, including prejudice, or backs radicalism or terrorism,” they would be expelled.

It was not immediately clear whether this would apply only to people found guilty of a offence for these actions. The Conservative party has already pledged to remove any UK-based foreign nationals convicted of all but the very minor offences.

Judicial Hurdles and Budget Increase

The shadow minister detailed particulars of the proposed removals unit, explaining it would have twice the budget of the existing arrangement.

The unit would be equipped to capitalise of the elimination of numerous entitlements and avenues of challenge for migrants.

“Stripping away the judicial barriers, that I have outlined, and doubling that budget means we can remove 150,000 people a year that have zero lawful entitlement to be here. That is 75% of a 1,000,000 over the duration of the next parliament.”

Northern Ireland Challenges and Platform Examination

The leader said there would be “particular difficulties in Northern Ireland”, where the ECHR is embedded in the Belfast accord.

The leader said she would get the prospective Northern Ireland minister “to examine this matter”.

Her address contained zero policies that had not already announced, with the leader repeating her message that the party needed to take lessons from its 2024 electoral loss and take opportunity to develop a unified agenda.

She continued to criticise a previous financial plan, saying: “The party will never redo the economic irresponsibility of expenditure commitments without specifying where the money is coming from.”

Emphasis on Migration and Safety

A great deal of the speeches were focused on migration, with the prospective home secretary in especial employing large sections of his speech to list a series of illegal acts carried out by asylum seekers.

“This is sick. We must do everything it takes to stop this madness,” the shadow minister declared.

The leader took a equally firm tone in parts, asserting the UK had “allowed the radical Islamist ideology” and that the country “must not import and accept principles opposed to our native”.