Law & Religion 2017 and 2018: retrospect and prospect

That was 2017, that was…

The General Election, Brexit and human rights

Inevitably, much of 2017 was dominated by the General Election and by Brexit – the second of which led directly to the first, when David Cameron resigned in June 2016 after losing the referendum and was succeeded by Theresa May. Mrs May decided that she needed her own mandate and the rest, as they say, is history: her small working majority was converted into a small working minority and she retained power only by negotiating a “Confidence and Supply” agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party.

The Conservative Manifesto said that a Conservative Government would not incorporate the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights into UK law but that the Human Rights Act 1998 would not be repealed or replaced while the Brexit process was under way. Crucially: “We will remain signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights for the duration of the next [ie the present] parliament” [p 37]. Continue reading