Don’t scrap the Human Rights Act

The issue

In June 2022, the Government published its so-called ‘Bill of Rights’ which would have undermined people’s human rights and weakened checks and balances on the Government.

The new bill would have made it harder for individuals to get their case into court when a public authority abused its power. The bill was also going to limit ‘positive obligations’, meaning there would be fewer instances where public authorities are obliged to take proactive steps to protect people’s rights.

We campaigned against this bill both because it was an attack on our human rights and also because it was a big concern for our supporters. In a survey, 93% of our supporters said the repeal of the Human Rights Act is one of the proposals they would most like to see Unlock Democracy taking a strong stand against.

Our campaign

We fought back hard against this attempt to undermine our human rights.

We worked with a coalition of 150 organisations, including Liberty and Amnesty International, to oppose this bill at every turn.

We launched a petition calling on the Justice Secretary to abandon his plans to overhaul the Human Rights Act. This petition grew rapidly and received just under 10,000 signatures.

We encouraged 850 of our supporters to write to their MP asking them to stand up for human rights and oppose the Government’s proposals. 

We spoke up about how the Human Rights Act protects everyone living in the UK. We did this by amplifying the stories of individuals who have had their human rights violated without any justification. You can read more on this here.

A victory for human rights (at least for now!)

In June 2023, Alex Chalk MP, the Justice Secretary, confirmed in the Commons that the so-called Bill of Rights has been shelved permanently.

But our work doesn't stop here. This Government is hellbent on weakening human rights' protections and dodging accountability.

They are chipping away at our human rights from different angles. For example, the Illegal Migration Bill will give Ministers the power to violate our international agreements on human rights.

What’s next?

For now, we will be keeping a close eye on what the Government is saying in regards to human rights’ protections. We will also continue speaking up about the Human Rights Act’s positive impact.