Evaluate the view that human rights are well protected in the United Kingdom (30)
Introduction
What are human rights?
- Universal, Fundamental , Absolute
- Defined as the rights that are outlined in the Human Rights Act 1998
Paragraph 1
They are well protected by the Human Rights Act
- An act that sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that everyone in the UK is entitled to.
- Came into force in the UK October 2000
- It ensures that: you can seek justice in a British court, Public bodies must respect your rights, New laws are
compatible with convention rights
o Example : HRA allowed second investigation into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster where 96 people died
at a football match. Article 2 – right to life – was essential in uncovering the truth. Not ‘accidental
death’ but instead ‘unlawfully killed’. Led to improvements in public safety
But, it is possible for public authorities to interfere with a qualified right if its allowed under law
- Priti Patel’s new policing bill seeks to criminalise “serious annoyance”, increase police powers to restrict protests,
and give the home secretary discretion over what typed of protests
- Undermines Article 11 of the Human Rights Act : people are able to organise protests without fear of reprisal
- “The police will be able to take a more proactive approach to managing protests”
- Seemingly passing at court, at the ‘committee stage’ in House of Lords
Shows that the HRA is not as strong as believed
Paragraph 2
Judicial review allows citizens to challenge decisions made by public bodies
- Allows an independent judiciary to protect the rights of the individual against the power of the state
- Judges can overturn a lawful decision if it goes against the Human Rights Act
o Allowed Gurkha veterans, who had been a part of the British Army,UK visas. In 2008, five Gurkha
veterans and a regimental widow sought judicial review after being refused visas. The original ruling
was declared “irrational and unlawful’
However, Judicial Review has a depleting significance
- Only 184 cases, or 5% of total cases reached a full oral hearing in 2018
- The Bar Council points to the fact that applications for judicial review fell by 44% between 2015 and September
2019.
- A growing government influence – access to judicial review was significantly restricted by the coalition
government in 2013 when it tightened the right to use legal aid for challenged and it raised court fees. .
Paragraph 3
There is a Equality and Human Rights Commission that helps to promote the human rights of everyone in Britain.
- In 10 years they have taken more than 80 legal actions, with a successful outcome in over 2/3 of them.
- They increased protection for more than 500,000 older and disabled people receiving care in their homes by
helping close a legal loophole.
- Assisted a landmark legal case on sexual orientation discrimination – Article 14
o They also launched an inquiry on antisemitism in the Labour party in May 2019, which concluded that
Labour was responsible for three breached of the Equality Act, which meant that labour was served
with an unlawful act notice.
However,
- Since 2010, the EHRC budget has been cut from £63m to less than £17.4m.
- It has often been portrayed as toothless by equality campaigners, or a ‘politically correct’ liberal institute by
those on the right.
- It was also criticised in March 2020 for failing to launch an inquiry into over 300 allegations of Islamophobia in
the Conservative party. This could perhaps be because the commission is government funded.
Conclusion
I believe that Human Rights are not well protected in the UK. While we have the human rights act, the things that protect it
(EHRC and Judicial Review) have depleting power, and may soon be abolished. Also, the idea that Boris Johnson plans to
‘opt out of human rights laws’ defies the idea that they are ‘absolute’. UK ‘Bill of Rights’.
, Evaluate the extent to which social factors affect voting
Class
- Until 1980’s, class would determine how a person would vote
o Classes A,B and C1 would be described as middle class and vote
Conservatives
o C2, D and E would be working class and vote labour
Helps to explain why in 1970, 88% of votes went to the two parties
- In 1966, 64% of C2DE voters voted labour, whilst 62% of ABC1 voters voting
Conservatives – making 63% of voters ‘class voters’
But, class is starting to matter less
- Since Thatcher’s de-industrialisation of Britain, the working class no longer exists in
the way it once did
- But, people are moving away from the Socialisation model, and nearing towards
Rational-Choice
- In 2019 election, only 33% of C2DE’s voted Labour
o The conservatives were ahead with C2DE voters (48%)
o Breaking of the Red Wall/ North-South Divide
o Suggesting that external factors such as Brexit are more important
Age
- Tends to be that young voters lean left whilst older voters lean right
o In 2017, 66% of 18-24 year olds voted Labour
o 58% of 60-69 year olds voted for Conservative
- 47 also tends to be the key age where people switch from voting for Labour to
Conservative
o “If a man is not a socialist by the time he is 20, he has no heart. If he is not a
conservative by the time he is 40, he had no brain” – Churchill
But, the influence of age on referendums may be limited
- Younger voters are also less likely to vote
o In 2017, only 57% of 18-24 year olds voted
o Whereas, 84% of those 70+ voted
o Also, Britain’s aging population means that the elderly population is growing
as a percentage of the total population
Gender
- While out of the 491 women elected to the HoC, 58% of these have been Labour,
women still tend to favour the Conservative party when voting.
- In recent decades, political parties have made efforts to appeal to women
o Women were attributed to winning Ted Heaths 1970 victory, due to their
concerns over the economic stability and the price of the weekly shop.
o 1997 – Blair Babes – 101 women elected to HoC under Labour, due to Tony
Blair’s all women shortlists
o This allowed Labour to close the gender gap, receiving equal votes from each
gender
- But, Gender as having a decreasing significance
o Gender in the most recent elections (2015, 2017, and 2019) is not seen to be of
much of an issue – with patterns of men and women being similar
