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Spectator
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
What Suella Braverman's plan for quitting the ECHR gets right
This morning's paper on leaving the ECHR from Suella Braverman and the Prosperity Institute doesn't say much that hasn't been said somewhere before. It reiterates the fairly obvious political case for a UK ECHR exit. It talks about the erosion of sovereignty over immigration, policing and vast swathes of social policy; the baneful 'living instrument' doctrine that means we have now effectively given a blank cheque to a self-selecting and unaccountable bench to second-guess our democratic process in ever more intrusive ways; the Strasbourg court's arrogation of powers, such as the right to order interim measures never contemplated in 1950; and so on. The paper then goes in detail through the legal machinery of disentanglement, starting with the obvious point that the Convention itself provides for a right to leave on giving six months' notice, and then describing the legislative and administrative processes involved. But don't be fooled. This may not be exciting reading (Suella is, after all, a lawyer); but the appearance of this document at this time matters a lot. One very significant point is that the paper in one place meets head-on the arguments lazily trotted out as slam-dunk wins for the case against withdrawal. Does the UK's good reputation depend on ECHR membership? Doubtful. There are plenty of countries not members of regional agreements that are admirably free (think Canada and Australia), not to mention ECHR members that, shall we say, leave something to be desired (stand up, Azerbaijan). Reform the ECHR from within? We've tried that, and it's had no effect in the areas that matter. Tweak the Human Rights Act? It won't work with the Strasbourg court sitting in the background waiting to pounce. The right of the EU to withdraw police cooperation under the Withdrawal Agreement if we denounce the ECHR? Bring it on, and if need be, call their bluff. They have as much to lose as we have: it's a small risk, and one worth taking. What of the elephant in the room, the Good Friday Agreement? More awkward, but nothing insuperable here. For one thing, it doesn't actually bar the UK from withdrawing from the ECHR. Instead it talks much more vaguely of the incorporation of ECHR provisions in Ulster law and court remedies to enforce it. If necessary, there must be some political horse-trading here, and in the end, Westminster must be prepared to put its foot down and face down Irish nationalists if necessary in the interest of a common rights regime in the UK. To this extent, the Braverman document has continued the process of moving ECHR scepticism away from the fringe and placing it firmly in the range of the sayable and even politically plausible. More to the point, it also fills another void. So far, calls to ditch the ECHR have suffered from a similar difficulty to that which faced the Leave movement right up to the 2016 referendum and might well have tipped it into defeat: it has been heavy on criticism but light on practicalities. By laying down in some detail the measures to be taken to remove the ECHR from our law both in form and substance and opening these to debate, this may well reassure electors otherwise wavering. Looking more widely, today's events could just indicate a subtle shift in political tectonics. Doubts about the way the ECHR is chipping away at the institutions of this country are engaging electors who might previously have shrugged off human rights as something remote and unconcerning. Whenever they read of an undeserving visitor to this country allowed to stay, often at our expense as taxpayers, on the basis of family life here or possible beastliness abroad, they increasingly connect this with the ECHR; so too when, as a harassed commuter or housewife, they find they cannot go about their business because of some demonstration said to be protected by a European right to cause inconvenience to the public. Nor is it only electors. Teasingly, this morning's Telegraph said that Suella's proposals had cross-party backing not only from key figures on the Tory right (predictable: after all, even Kemi has said she is open to talk of abandoning the Strasbourg regime) and also from Reform, whose position has always been clear, but also from the DUP and even some from blue Labour (no names yet, but an educated guess might light on figures like Jonathan Brash, the free-thinking MP for Hartlepool). Whisper it quietly, but human rights scepticism is becoming the new mainstream. Defenders of the Strasbourg status quo are shrinking to an increasingly small caucus of senior Labour figures, Tory grandees and a motley collection of urban intellectuals and academics. It's quite possible that within a few years, ECHR enthusiasm will have declined to a niche interest in much the same way as, say, Euroscepticism did twenty years ago. Now that's a change worth contemplating.
Spectator
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
My P.G. Wodehouse summer
Normally I model myself on one of the more retiring of the Desert Fathers, as much as a man living in England with six children can, so I rarely venture out. But this summer I could have given Galahad Threepwood a run for his money in the socialising stakes. Not that a Desert Father would have objected to my visit to Wimbledon to the papal nunciature, where the nuncio was celebrating the papacy of Leo XIV. It is reassuring to have a Pope who believes in the papal office and, with luck, the traditional liturgies will no longer be persecuted. The hatred for the Latin Mass is a peculiarity of a few ageing liberals. Fortunately, young Catholics, including my nephew David who is a seminarian, are flocking to the Old Rite. Wimbledon, as P.G. Wodehouse aficionados know, is Ukridge territory. His Aunt Julia lived there, and I am taking a leaf out of his book by keeping quails in Somerset. I bought a few to get started but now want to breed some more. Mr Bezos, despite being so busy with his nuptials, has kindly delivered an incubator and other essentials so I hope to do a bit better than Ukridge did with his chickens, or indeed his proposed duck farm. I must see if I can get a pig next. The Conservative party may be short of votes but Conservatism is brimming over with ideas. Leading the charge is Radomir Tylecote at the Prosperity Institute, formerly Legatum, and I was honoured to be asked to speak at its summer party. I was the warm-up act for Nigel Farage, who you never want to follow. I argued we need to reunite the right; he demurred, but at the next election we need a mandate in votes as well as a majority of seats. One without the other ends in tears, as Keir Starmer is discovering. In eight years at educational establishments on the Thames I never once went on the river, but since my son Thomas has taken up rowing – he is the cox for an Eton crew – I am beginning to learn about it. Indeed, I have been taught the difference between rowing and sculling and with this new knowledge I greatly enjoyed my first visit to the Henley Regatta. It was a perfect day, warm but not too hot, in the company of long-standing friends. It is a wonderfully English event, everyone is properly dressed with the happy sensation of being transported, in my case forward, to the Victorian era. Although the trains would have worked better in those days. Returning to London, my wife Helena and I set off to The Spectator's summer party. As we sauntered along Old Queen Street we bumped into the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. I first met him many years ago when he greeted me saying: 'You don't even think I am a bishop.' It was a point I had not intended to make but it is a reminder that Leo XIII was the pope of Apostolicae Curae as well as Rerum Novarum. As it happens, Welby was not going to the party last week, but I was glad to see him as I had not done so since he resigned. I feel he has been harshly treated and is fundamentally a holy man. The scandal of abuse, in all walks of life but especially the churches, is not ameliorated by finding scapegoats who were not in charge at the time. The Spectator puts on a fine party but, like my late father, I am not good at mingling and tend to stand in a corner fiddling with my cufflinks in the hope that people will take pity on me and come to say hello. Fortunately they did, and my glass seemed to be topped up after each sip. Pol Roger, in this case, or Bollinger, which I tend to serve at home, make a party jolly and are much to be encouraged. Meanwhile, Helena, who is more socially adept, managed to speak to everyone including Nigel Farage and the editor. She could fill me in on the political gossip as we went home. When I was an MP, Fridays were always busy with constituency duties. Now they are quite quiet, so it seemed like old times when the friends of Cameley Church came to see me. They are fundraising to preserve the remarkable medieval wall paintings of this wonderful 12th-century church. When I was Lord President of the Council I watched the list of burial grounds to be closed attentively as Cameley is quite full and I plan to end up in the church yard where generations of Moggs and Rees-Moggs are buried. On the day of the bodily resurrection, I expect we will all pop up and fiddle with our cufflinks before ruminating on the beautiful Somerset countryside.
Spectator
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Farage claims the mantle of Thatcher's revolution
After a day of drama in Westminster, an intriguing party was hosted at Charterhouse Square in the City. The Prosperity Institute, formerly Legatum, is not one of the more venerable think tanks, like the Fabians or the IEA. But the attendant crowd – a mix of centre-right wonks, spinners, thinkers and politicians – was a testament to the work that the institute has done since July 2024. A large marquee and well-stocked bar prompted one guest to remark that 'It felt more of a wedding than a wake'. That was a refreshing sentiment for many attendees, given the tendency of such events to become mournful, dour affairs since the election. But it also highlighted an important theme: will there be a happy union on the British right before 2029? The two speakers for the evening were Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage. The former used his speech to issue a call for the 'Tory family' to come together. The latter then took to the microphone to issue a predictable rebuttal. Farage told the crowd: Jacob said 'We're all part of one big Tory family. I know you might be Jacob, but I'm not'. I don't think the word Tory should be consigned to history. It's failed. It's been around for 200 years, but the whole centre right of British politics needs to be reshaped and reformulated in a very dramatic way. Such comments are hardly a surprise – Farage has been saying the same for 12 months now. But what followed was a passion call-to-arms by the Reform leader, in which he urged those in attendance to join him in his struggle. It is worth quoting at length for posterity's sake: I am going to do amazing things in politics over the course of the next few years. Please don't underestimate that. But I need people like the Prosperity Institute who are bringing fresh, young talent into current affairs, into thinking. We need policy solutions we can give to the electorate next time round. We need positivity. We need optimism… All of you involved with this. You've got a very important role to play. Remember, the great revolution that took place from 1979 was based on lots of hard work and good thinking that had been put in before. You know, the Keith Josephs, the Milton Friedmans, people like that. And that in many ways is your role today with this… We need people to do the work, the thought for those of us in the front lines to have the ammunition to go out and fight, and that's exactly what we intend to do… I would ask you all, please, to raise a glass to our hosts tonight, to the very important work they've got to do. I give you the Prosperity Institute. From the 1980s to the 2010s, globalisation, low taxes and steady economic prosperity was the norm. But Farage has recognised that both global events and the electorate's tastes have changed all that. He is now urging the talent of the British right, clever young men and women in their twenties and thirties, whose forebears created the Thatcher revolution, to help him build what comes next. Some will likely follow Farage. But others – especially admirers of Robert Jenrick – remain with the Tories, for now. 'People are keen to keep a foot in both camps', said one Conservative MP this week. It is not yet obvious whether the Tories or Reform will win the battle of the parties. But one thing is certainly clear from last night: the Prosperity Institute is worth keeping an eye on. Their work will likely form a bedrock of the next centre-right government in Britain: regardless of who leads it.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Trigger warning put on ancient Egyptian slave statues
The National Trust has put a trigger warning on a pair of ancient Egyptian slave statues. The statues, at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire, depict two children clothed in gold, raising torches and standing on either side of a staircase. A report published by the Prosperity Institute revealed that a trigger warning has been placed next to them. A placard says the Trust is 'working to redisplay and reinterpret these statues' so that the 'appalling histories of slavery and the slave trade' can be recognised. It reads: 'Today, the depiction of black people in European sculpture causes upset and distress to many. We don't want to censor or deny the way colonial histories are woven into the fabric of our places. 'Cliveden, including these statues, is Grade I-listed, meaning it has been identified as nationally significant. So we're working to redisplay and reinterpret these statues in a way that acknowledges the appalling histories of slavery and the slave trade. 'We invite you to consider what they represent about British and global history.' Dr Radomir Tylecote, managing director of the Prosperity Institute, said the report exposes how the National Trust 'uses woke rhetoric while pursuing policies that patently reduce accessibility.' He added: 'Supporters of the Trust have defended its woke initiatives by claiming they make the organisation more accessible and inclusive.' The statues, also known as torcheres, were created in the 19th century by Val D'Osne, a leading French art foundry, after a model by the French visual artist Mathurin Moreau. They were bought by Hugh Grosvenor, the 1st Duke of Westminster, who lived at Cliveden from 1868 to 1893. They incorporate several stylistic motifs reflecting the fashions and cultural interests of the time. The figures are modelled as children, but their pose and function derive from a much older European decorative tradition known as the 'Blackamoor,' which was a European art style that depicted highly-stylised figures, often African males, in subservient or exoticised form. The term is now viewed as racist or culturally insensitive. A trigger warning was also added to the website of Trengwainton Garden, a National Trust property in Cornwall. The website discusses the history of Sir Rose Price, the owner of the property in 1814, whose wealth came from inherited sugar plantations in Jamaica. A box reads: 'Please be aware: The following web page discusses the legacy of colonialism at Trengwainton and historic slavery and includes references to histories that some people may find upsetting.' The Prosperity Institute report argues that in recent years the management of the Trust, which is regulated by the Charity Commission, has been neglecting its principal duty of restoring houses and instead focused on projects that 'do not fall within the charity's core remit'. It also claims the Trust has started to added labels to its properties highlighting links to slavery and colonialism 'without providing sufficient context or balance' in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. A National Trust spokesperson said: 'Everything we do is guided by our charitable purpose. 'Our new strategy is clear that we want to increase people's access to places of nature, beauty and history and looking after our shared national heritage will always be a crucial part of that.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
31-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Trigger warning put on ancient Egyptian slave statues
The National Trust has put a trigger warning on a pair of ancient Egyptian slave statues. The statues, at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire, depict two children clothed in gold, raising torches and standing on either side of a staircase. A report published by the Prosperity Institute revealed that a trigger warning has been placed next to them. A placard says the Trust is 'working to redisplay and reinterpret these statues' so that the 'appalling histories of slavery and the slave trade' can be recognised. It reads: 'Today, the depiction of black people in European sculpture causes upset and distress to many. We don't want to censor or deny the way colonial histories are woven into the fabric of our places. 'Cliveden, including these statues, is Grade I-listed, meaning it has been identified as nationally significant. So we're working to redisplay and reinterpret these statues in a way that acknowledges the appalling histories of slavery and the slave trade. 'We invite you to consider what they represent about British and global history.' Dr Radomir Tylecote, managing director of the Prosperity Institute, said the report exposes how the National Trust 'uses woke rhetoric while pursuing policies that patently reduce accessibility.' He added: 'Supporters of the Trust have defended its woke initiatives by claiming they make the organisation more accessible and inclusive.' The statues, also known as torcheres, were created in the 19th century by Val D'Osne, a leading French art foundry, after a model by the French visual artist Mathurin Moreau. They were bought by Hugh Grosvenor, the 1st Duke of Westminster, who lived at Cliveden from 1868 to 1893. They incorporate several stylistic motifs reflecting the fashions and cultural interests of the time. 'Legacy of colonialism' The figures are modelled as children, but their pose and function derive from a much older European decorative tradition known as the 'Blackamoor,' which was a European art style that depicted highly-stylised figures, often African males, in subservient or exoticised form. The term is now viewed as racist or culturally insensitive. A trigger warning was also added to the website of Trengwainton Garden, a National Trust property in Cornwall. The website discusses the history of Sir Rose Price, the owner of the property in 1814, whose wealth came from inherited sugar plantations in Jamaica. A box reads: 'Please be aware: The following web page discusses the legacy of colonialism at Trengwainton and historic slavery and includes references to histories that some people may find upsetting.' The Prosperity Institute report argues that in recent years the management of the Trust, which is regulated by the Charity Commission, has been neglecting its principal duty of restoring houses and instead focused on projects that 'do not fall within the charity's core remit'. It also claims the Trust has started to added labels to its properties highlighting links to slavery and colonialism 'without providing sufficient context or balance' in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. A National Trust spokesperson said: 'Everything we do is guided by our charitable purpose. 'Our new strategy is clear that we want to increase people's access to places of nature, beauty and history and looking after our shared national heritage will always be a crucial part of that.'
