Ditch the ECHR - Unlock the Deportations Britain Demands !!

Op-Ed by Jason King for VPN

Across pubs and online spaces, frustration is mounting. Dangerous small boats overloaded with asylum seekers land unchecked, foreign criminals dodge deportation, and our overcrowded prisons contain grooming gang offenders who are not British citizens. Governments promise tough borders and justice, but they’re stopped in their tracks by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), embedded in UK law since 1998.

The solution is clear: leave it.

Leaving the ECHR is the linchpin—restoring common sense, justice, and fairness, putting ordinary people’s safetyover foreign crooks’ wishes.

Foreign Criminals

The law’s straightforward: serve more than a year in prison, and you’re deported. But ECHR’s Article 8—the “right to family life”—creates a loophole. Many grooming gang offenders, foreign nationals on Indefinite Leave to Remain, avoid removal because courts, bound by Article 8, won’t break up families. It defies common sense, mocks victims, and leaves taxpayers footing the bill for overcrowded prisons. The public wants these offenders gone, but ECHR blocks it.

Small Boats

Rishi Sunak’s plan to stop illegal Channel crossings is ready to go. But ECHR rules stall it—deporting arrivals is deemed too harsh, prioritizing human rights over border security. As a result, smugglers profit, boats keep coming, and public anger grows. The policy exists; the convention undermines it.

Asylum Chaos

Under international law, asylum should be claimed in the first safe country reached—Greece, Italy or Spain. But ECHRties the UK into processing claims from anyone who arrives, even if they’ve crossed multiple safe countries. The system strains under the pressure, costs rise, and public confidence drops.

The Fix

Trigger Article 58—leave the ECHR. Replace it with a British Bill of Rights, retaining key protections while cutting what doesn’t work. Limit Article 8 to British citizens—no “family life” defense for foreign offenders. Deport grooming gang rapists from Telford and Rochdale, offering deportation in place of long sentences. It’s practical: victims support it, and taxpayers save millions.

Next, align asylum rules with global norms: claims must be made in the first safe country, not here. Finally, enforce Sunak’s boat policy—cross illegally, get sent back. One move changes it all: criminals deported, boats stopped, asylum sorted.

A Realistic Path

This isn’t complex. The 1998 Human Rights Act put us here—no conspiracy, just a law that needs changing. Leaving the ECHR isn’t like Brexit; it’s a clean break through Article 58. No new frameworks, just the courage to act. The public’s clear: deport criminals, secure borders. Any mainstream party determined to deliver this would offer the public a way to achieve real change—use your democratic voice to vote them in, and mass deportation will follow.

Why Isn’t This Dominating Right-Leaning Politics Talk?

Maybe it’s too straightforward. Social media thrives on frustration—rants about open borders, prison costs, crime. It all drives engagement. But laying out a simple fix exposes the dilemma: leaving the ECHR isn’t a talking point, it’s a doing point. It makes clear that the focus needs to shift from talk to action. Parliamentarians who can push this through are what’s needed, and those who aren’t going to be in that position should back those who are.

The Way Forward

To achieve the future Britain deserves, we need to wake the public up to the domino effect of leaving the ECHR and restricting Article 8 to exclude those on indefinite leave to remain—including the mass deportations of foreign criminals. While sideshows draw crowds by claiming politics as we know it can’t fix the situation, we need to focus on the main stage, where the real action takes place. It’s time to make leaving the ECHR the dominant talking point that no potential government can ignore.

Well, that’s all for now. But until our next article, please stay tuned, stay informed, but most of all stay safe, and I’ll see you then.