It’s day one of the Conservative party conference and already Tory politicians are being probed on the tough questions. One of the hot topics in Manchester this afternoon was Kemi Badenoch’s declaration that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) needs to be ‘on the table’ as an option for the UK.
Among the first to be pressed on the subject today were Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove and Security Minister Tom Tugendhat at Onward’s ‘Future of Conservatis’m event. Both ministers intriguingly declined to rule such a move out. Asked if he agreed with Badenoch‘s opinion, Gove went first with a spritely ‘Keep every option open!’. Tugendhat answered more hesitantly, umming a little and coyly saying ‘I’m always happy to listen to ideas. I’d like to have the solutions that go along with them.’ Still not an explicit refusal…
Both were subsequently asked whether they did actually support leaving the ECHR given they had colleagues already proposing ideas and options for leaving.
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