Human Rights: David Cameron’s wavering

by Amy Lockwood May 29th, 2015

David Cameron’s wavering. He’s got grand plans to scrap the Human Rights Act but yesterday he had to admit that the storm of controversy around his proposals means he can’t continue full steam ahead.

He’s in a tricky position – and it’s because of 38 Degrees members and public pressure. We’ve helped him see he’ll have a mountain to climb if he wants to rewrite our human rights. Now’s the time to take advantage of the fact he’s dithering – and get the plans off the table for good.

38 Degrees members voted on the best ways to fight to protect our human rights. Together, we decided that we need to create a big media splash to counter the biased headlines. We’ll need to work with experts to explain the real impact of the government’s plans. And we need to hold huge public meetings to rally opposition.

Right now, the government is hoping we’ll go quiet so they can have a second shot at meddling with our rights. Scrapping the human rights act is still a government priority – whether it’s done quickly, or takes years.

So here’s what we’ll do to stop these plans in their tracks once and for all – voted on by thousands of 38 Degrees members:

• We create a storm in the media: let’s commission research and legal advice to earn us headlines that’ll make the government wince. It’ll lay out the consequences of scrapping the Human Rights Act. This legal advice will be really strong evidence for the government’s consultation too – it’ll be tough for them to ignore.
• We chip in for ads to make sure that our arguments are seen by as many people as possible. We’ll use real stories of people protected by the Human Rights Act to show people that any of us may need to rely on it one day.
• And we put on a big public meeting with MPs from all parties to rally opposition. It’ll send a huge message to the government that we won’t stand for these changes, and help convince other MPs to break cover and join us.

The Human Rights Act is based on a set of pledges made in the aftermath of World War II, written to make sure that the horrors of the Holocaust could never happen again. Today, the law is still used to protect people across Britain, from bringing justice to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster to exposing the truth about the Mid Staffordshire hospital scandal.

If we’re going to protect this law, we need to be bold with our campaign. Will you chip in a few pounds to make it happen? Please click here to make a donation.

Together, we’ve added to the storm of opposition that’s embarrassed David Cameron into slowing down a top manifesto promise. That’s a big deal. But now we need to keep it up. The government’s hoping this delay will keep questions about human rights out of the headlines, and give them some breathing space to sort themselves out. So let’s ramp up the pressure – and prove to David Cameron that we won’t let this happen.