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The Tory plan to scrap the Human Rights Act just moved one step closer

Further plans will be unveiled in the autumn, ministers say

Tuesday 08 September 2015 13:03 BST

Justice Secretary Michael Gove is spearheading the plan to replace the Act (Getty Images)

The Government will publish its plans to replace the Human Rights Act in the autumn of this year, ministers have announced.

Asked in the House of Commons when the detailed plan for the Government’s “British Bill of Rights” would be made public, Dominic Raab said it would be available soon.

“We will bring forward proposals on a bill of rights this autumn, they will be subject to full consultation. The preparation is going well,” the justice minister said.

Mr Raab said the bill would give the UK Supreme Court supremacy over the European Court of Human Rights and give “a greater respect for the legislative role for honourable member sin this place” – referring to MPs.

Dominic Raab, a Justice Minister (UK Parliament)

The minister responded to suggestions that the British Bill of Rights was being rushed by stating that the old legislation it was replacing had also been rushed.

“The Human Rights Act was itself rushed, there was no period of consultation, it was introduced to parliament in just six months and that’s one of the reasons it proved flawed in practice,” he said.

“We will take our time to get it right, we will take on board all the views that have been expressed and we want to restore some balance to our human rights regime and that’s what a bill of rights will do.”

It is not clear whether giving the UK Supreme Court supremacy over the European Court of Human Rights is compatible with membership of the European Convention on Human Rights.

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

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1/8What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

Welfare payments will be slashed

One of the most controversial parts of the Conservative manifesto was to cut benefits for the working age poor by £12 bn over the next three years. But during the campaign they only said where £2 bn of these savings would come from. That leaves £10 bn still to find. Some experts think the only way they can close that gap is by means testing child benefit – with millions of families losing out

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be tax cuts for those in work and those who die

The Tories will increase the threshold at which the 40p rate of tax becomes payable to £50,000 by 2020. They haven’t said so but it is also likely that at some point in the next five years they will abolish that 45p rate of tax altogether for the highest earners. They also want to increase the effective inheritance tax threshold for married couples and civil partners to £1m

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be an in/out EU referendum in 2017

The next two years are going to be dominated by the prospect of a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. First off David Cameron has the daunting task of negotiating a deal with other EU leaders an acceptable deal that he can sell to his party so he can go into the referendum campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote. This may be unachievable and it is possible that the Tories may end up arguing to leave. Opinion polls show Britain is divided on EU membership, one poll this year showed 51% said they would opt to leave compared to 49% who would vote to stay in

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be more privatisation of the NHS

Having won the election the Tories now have a mandate to go further and faster reforming the NHS. In order to make cost savings there is likely to be greater private involvement in running services, while some smaller hospitals may lose services they currently provide like A&E and maternity units

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be many more free schools – and traditional state schools will become a thing of the past

The Tories plans to create 500 new free schools and make 3,000 state schools become academies. They will also carry on reforming the Department of Education and remove more powers from local authorities over how schools are run

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

On shore wind farms will be a thing of the past and fracking will be the future

Government spending on renewable energy is under real threat now the Lib Dems are no longer in power with the Tories. Subsidies are likely to be slashed for off-shore wind farm and other green energy supplies. Meanwhile there will be generous tax break for fracking as ministers try and incentivise the industry to drill for onshore oil and gas

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There maybe more free childcare – but not necessarily

In the campaign the Tories pledged to double the amount of free early education for three- and four-year-olds from 15 hours a week to 30. The extra hours would only be offered to working families where parents are employed for at least eight hours a week. However they have not said where the money will come from to fund the pledge

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

Workers' rights could be reduced

The Tories want to slash business regulation, merge regulator and cut costs. The Lib Dems stopped them from reducing the employment rights of workers in power – but these are now under threat

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The Scottish Government has said it will try to stop the UK Government from repealing the Human Rights Act

“I oppose the repeal of the Human Rights Act, I think it’s an appalling thing to be doing,” Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said shortly after the election.

The Conservatives promised to repeal the Human Rights Act in their manifesto in this year’s general election.

The Act allows British citizens to raise human rights concerns in British courts rather than having to go to the European Court of Human Rights.

It also requires all public authorities to obey the European Convention on Human Rights.

The scrapping of the plan is being spearheaded by Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary.

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