Oxford report examines ten reasons to stay in the ECHR as UK public backs membership

Marking 75 years of the ECHR and 25 years since the Human Rights Act gave it effect in UK law, the research, ‘Examining 10 Reasons to Stay in the European Convention on Human Rights: Informing the Public Debate in the UK’, addresses a debate often dominated by claims about immigration control and widespread misunderstandings of what the ECHR does. 

Our analysis shows that the ECHR underpins everyday protections from digital privacy and freedom of expression to safeguards for victims and the stability of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. It is wrong to say that the ECHR does not respect parliamentary sovereignty. It does, and also provides essential accountability when things go wrong. Our evidence shows that the ECHR strengthens protections at home and gives the UK credibility and influence abroad.

Professor Başak Çalı, Head of Research, Bonavero Institute

2025 has seen proposals to take the UK out of the ECHR – a step no democracy has ever taken and which runs counter to public opinion – with implications for the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and wider cooperation with European partners. 

However, the analysis finds that reasons for the UK to remain in the ECHR have been largely missing from media reporting and political discussion, and that there has been a lack of sufficiently informed debate about the consequences of withdrawal from the ECHR.  

The report sets out ten key reasons to stay in the ECHR – spanning accountability after state failures, protections for free expression and privacy, proportionate policing, and practical safeguards across public services – with evidence drawn from UK law, public authority practice, human rights case law, international treaty obligations, and academic and expert analysis. 

Study co-author Professor Başak Çalı, Head of Research at the Bonavero Institute in Oxford’s Faculty of Law, said:

‘Our analysis shows that the ECHR underpins everyday protections from digital privacy and freedom of expression to safeguards for victims and the stability of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. It is wrong to say that the ECHR does not respect parliamentary sovereignty. It does, and also provides essential accountability when things go wrong. Our evidence shows that the ECHR strengthens protections at home and gives the UK credibility and influence abroad.’  

The analysed benefits of staying in the ECHR are: 

• Safeguarding basic rights in workplaces, courtrooms, hospitals, care homes and newsrooms. 
• Protecting people at risk, including children, people in care, and victims of domestic violence and modern slavery. 
• Defending privacy in an age of mass surveillance and data harvesting (e.g. DNA retention limits and bulk interception safeguards). 
• Enabling accountability after major failures such as the Hillsborough disaster. 
• Protecting free speech and democracy, and respecting parliamentary sovereignty. 
• Providing increased protection compared with common law protections, including by providing an external source of accountability through the European Court of Human Rights 
• Providing rights protections that stand the test of time, adapting to new circumstances and new threats. 
• Supporting peace and stability in Northern Ireland. 
• Enabling cooperation on border control, security, data sharing and tackling cross-border crime. 
• Strengthening the UK’s voice and credibility in the Council of Europe and on the global stage. 

Co-author Professor Alice Donald, Middlesex University, said: 

‘Engaging in debate about the ECHR and the UK’s relationship with it is legitimate and is how human rights law and policy evolves in a democratic society. But such debate must be evidence-based and grounded in accurate information.’ 

Previous research by the Bonavero Institute, ‘The European Convention on Human Rights and Immigration Control in the UK: Informing the Public Debate’, found that a large majority of ECHR-related news articles published in the UK focus on immigration and deportation, with the role of the ECHR frequently misreported in this context. 

Together, the reports demonstrate that recent political proposals to withdraw risk being made based on inaccurate or false premises and without an informed public debate about the benefits of the ECHR or about the consequences of withdrawal. 

Read ‘Examining 10 Reasons to Stay in the European Convention on Human Rights: Informing the Public Debate in the UK’ and explore further Bonavero reports here.

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