Thursday briefing: Will Labour’s human rights overhaul curb or fuel the far right?
Good morning. Yesterday was Human Rights Day, set up in 1950 by the United Nations to celebrate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a statement of fundamental rights and freedoms in response to the horrors of the second world war. This historic, non-binding document laid the foundations for the European convention on human rights (ECHR), an international treaty signed by European states including the UK. Each country made a legal commitment to protect certain rights and freedoms to guard against a repeat of human rights atrocities and to help fulfil the promise of “never again”. But the convention and the European court, which adjudicates on breaches, have been denounced in the UK for years by critics on the right as an enemy to British sovereignty and, more recently, as a barrier to controlling borders. The court was once described as one of the UK’s “most maligned institutions”. This reached its peak on Wednesday as, at a crucial European summit, the UK joined some of Europe’s hard-right governments, including Hungary and Italy, in calling for human rights laws to be “constrained”, allowing Rwanda-style migration deals with third countries and more foreign criminals to be deported. For today’s newsletter, I spoke to Rajeev Syal, the Guardian’s home affairs editor, about what is behind the UK’s calls for curbs on human rights laws, what has emerged from the summit and the likely impact. First, this morning’s headlines. Five big stories Venezuela | Venezuela’s Nobel-winning opposition leader María Corina Machado has made a dramatic appearance in front of cheering supporters on a hotel balcony in Oslo, Norway after slipping out by boat from hiding in her home country. It came as US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, sending tensions soaring. Immigration and asylum | The UK has joined some of Europe’s hardline governments in calling for human rights laws to be “constrained” to allow Rwanda-style migration deals with third countries and more foreign criminals to be deported. Schools | Students could be sitting some of their GCSEs and A-levels on a laptop by the end of the decade, according to England’s qualifications watchdog. Europe | Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has responded to US claims that Europe faces “civilisational erasure” by saying it backs efforts for a nationalist revival on the continent. Books | Madeleine Wickham, known for writing the bestselling novel Confessions of a Shopaholic under her pen name Sophie Kinsella, has died aged 55. In depth: ‘If they don’t go down this road, what’s the alternative?’ Before the summit in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Keir Starmer urged European leaders to “go further” in modernising the interpretation of the ECHR so that member states can protect their borders and see off the rise of the populist right across the continent. In a joint piece for the Guardian with Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, Starmer said the current asylum framework was “created for another era” and that updating the interpretation of the convention was urgently required to confront the challenges of “irregular migration”. The prime minister’s comments followed the Labour government’s own announcement last month of the biggest shake-up to the asylum system in 40 years, when the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, warned that “dark forces are stirring up anger” over migration. She has argued that Labour must act to prevent the perceived overreach of human rights law or risk facing far worse if the hard right wins the next election.Under article 8 of the convention, the government said it wanted to stop asylum seekers using their rights to a family life to avoid deportation. The UK also wants to move on article 3, described by human rights experts as the “very core” of the convention, which states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” While people should never face torture, the government argued that the legal interpretation of the rule “has been expanded over time”, allowing people to block deportations on the basis of arguments such as the fact they could not receive proper mental health care in their own country. Starmer, who wrote his first article for the Guardian in 2009 in defence of human rights law, has said he believes there are genuine instances of the convention being interpreted too widely. There have been serious cases in recent years that have worried ministers, of child rapists permitted to stay in the UK because of the overcrowded nature of Brazilian prisons; or instances where healthcare systems not being deemed as advanced in other countries has prevented the deportation of criminals. *** What has the Council of Europe decided? On Wednesday afternoon, two separate statements emerged, in what was seen as signs of deep divisions across Europe over how to tackle irregular migration, and whether to continue to guarantee rights for refugees and economic migrants. The UK joined 27 of the 46 Council of Europe members in signing an unofficial statement that urges a new framework for the ECHR, which will narrow the definition of “inhuman and degrading treatment”. It calls for human rights laws to be “constrained” to allow Rwanda-style migration deals with third-party countries, and for more foreign criminals to be deported. It also argues that article 8 of the convention should be “adjusted” in relation to criminals, so that more weight is put on the nature and seriousness of the offence committed and less on a criminal’s ties with the host country. A formal declaration signed by 46 member states did not outline any problems with particular articles of the convention. France, Spain and Germany are among those countries that have declined to sign the unofficial statement. The Council of Europe secretary general, Alain Berset, told reporters that all 46 member states had “reaffirmed their deep and abiding commitment” to both the European convention on human rights and the European court of human rights. But he described the convention as something that needed to adapt. The agreement reached by all 46 members says the Council of Europe has agreed to look at how the ECHR is applied in the context of “contemporary challenges posed by irregular migration”. Work will begin on adopting the declaration in May 2026. *** What it means for the UK Rajeev is not sure exactly how many asylum cases will be affected by any changes to human rights laws, but he estimates that only a “very small proportion” of judgments could be involved. “I was told 420,000 people made applications under the convention over the last decade. That is 420,000 people who believe their human rights were violated. About 7,000 of those were related to migration rights.” Of those, Rajeev says, only 450 resulted in judgments “against the country”, where they are deemed to be at risk from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment. “So we’re talking a very small proportion of actual judgments heard by the European court,” he thinks. But the argument that David Lammy, the deputy prime minister and justice secretary, makes, Rajeev says, is that these cases have a “chilling effect” on the way human rights law operates in the UK because people think they can get away with more than they should. What they’re trying to do, by advocating changes to the way human rights law is interpreted, is force judges to tighten judgments on specific cases, he adds. *** Will this curb the far right? In Starmer’s piece for the Guardian, he wrote: “The best way of fighting against the forces of hate and division is to show that mainstream, progressive politics can fix this problem. “We are making this case across Europe, and momentum for change is building. More countries are now pursuing similar approaches – ensuring that protection is available for those refugees who need it, while making it connected to clear expectations of integration and contribution.” The “big question” remaining, says Rajeev, is whether Labour is confronting the rhetoric of the far right or pandering to it. “We don’t know, but the point is, the polls do show that there’s widespread anger regarding the state, the economy and the fact that there’s been a big influx of immigration over the last 20 years.” Such anger, he says, cannot be dismissed as only about racism, because much is about resources, public services, cuts and questions – questions like: why are we allowing more people in when we haven’t got enough housing or health facilities for the existing population? “All these are live debates that the government doesn’t have answers to, because the economy is in such a mess,” Rajeev says. “So you do have to ask, if they don’t go down this road, what’s the alternative? Is the alternative a Reform-led government?” One key difference for Labour: unlike the Tories and Reform UK, the party is committed to remaining within the ECHR. *** What are the dangers of curbing human rights laws? This week, the actors Michael Palin, Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley were among 21 well-known figures calling on Starmer to drop plans to weaken human rights law and instead “take a principled stand” for torture victims. A letter signed by the actors told the prime minister: “Any attempt at undermining universal protections is an affront to us all and a threat to the security of each and every one of us.” Human rights campaigners, Labour peers and some backbenchers have also called on ministers to resist making changes, saying it would open the door to countries abandoning some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Veronika Fikfak, a professor of international law at University College London, wrote that a change to article 3 “touches the very core” of the convention. “Prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment is an absolute right. It allows for no balancing. There is no margin of appreciation for states, nor any deference to them,” she wrote. As Rajeev says: “Many people believe that if once you start messing around with article 3, you leave the door open to unscrupulous regimes or governments to drive a coach and horses through either the obligation upon states not to send people back to torture, or to get away with torture.” What else we’ve been reading I enjoyed reading Jason Okundaye’s final dispatch for The Long Wave newsletter, where he visits Ghana for Accra Cultural Week and explores the historic area of Jamestown, which is inhabited by the Ga people. Sundus Abdi, newsletters team I am fascinated by early silent cinema, and Peter Bradshaw’s review of some recently restored Sherlock Holmes reels from the 1920s has me itching to see them. Martin We’ve heard of the 1%, but did you know that 0.001% control three times as much wealth as half of humanity? This visual breakdown of the 56,000 wealthiest people in the world was eye-opening. Sundus Miss Rosen spoke to David Corio for Huck magazine about his brilliant set of photographs at a dubplate studio during Jamaica’s 90s dancehall heyday. Martin Community choirs have changed lives and brought friendship, belonging and valuable memories. It was especially heartwarming to read that for Jill’s father, Bryon, choir kept him going while battling Parkinson’s: “It lifted his spirits to be part of a community again.” Sundus Sport Football | Goals from Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland helped Manchester City fight back to win 2-1 at Real Madrid and leave Xabi Alonso under huge pressure. Ice skating | Same-sex couples will be permitted to compete in ice dance in British events as of next season, including the national championships, British Ice Skating announced on Wednesday. Darts | Defending champion Luke Littler, a phenomenon and the indisputable titan of darts, heads to the World Championships with a sense of inevitability at the Alexandra Palace extravaganza. The front pages “Visitors to US could have to reveal five years of social media activity” says the Guardian this morning and the Metro quips that it will necessitate a “Defensive trawl for World Cup fans”. The i paper has “UK set to turn back clock on Brexit and rejoin EU’s student exchange scheme from January 2027” and the Express emotes “They cannot be trusted with Brexit!”. The Times runs with “Net zero plan to cost households £500 a year” while the Mirror announces a “£3.5bn war on homelessness” by the Labour government . “Fed cuts rates to lowest in three years as weak jobs market eclipses inflation” – that’s the top story in the Financial Times. The Daily Mail has “Stop Labour’s ‘grotesque’ puberty drug experiment on children”, citing Tory MP Claire Coutinho. The Telegraph runs with “Falklands arms ban must end, says Milei” – as in Falklands-era. Today in Focus Pete Hegseth unleashes his ‘warrior culture’ on the world Donald Trump’s secretary of war is facing allegations of war crimes and a blistering report into his handling of classified information. Joseph Gedeon reports Cartoon of the day | Nicola Jennings The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad Guardian readers have raised more than £100,000 in less than a week for this year’s charity appeal. The Hope appeal has partnered with five grassroots charities that promote compassion and social justice in some of the UK’s most economically deprived areas affected by division, distrust and racism. Editor-in-chief Katharine Viner said the appeal had been launched against a toxic backdrop of social division, far-right activism, the demonisation of migrants, and the re-emergence of “1970s-style racism”. She wrote that the charities “run food banks, jobs and skills initiatives, youth and sports clubs, drop-in centres, arts projects, neighbourhood festivals and refugee welcome initiatives. They help to build hope.” Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Martin Belam’s Thursday news quiz Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply






