BIHR has written to the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, calling for a clear commitment to the practical implementation of the Human Rights Act and to improving public understanding of how human rights affect people in their everyday lives.
Our message is simple: human rights are not just about constitutional debates or political flashpoints. They are about all of us, whether that's being involved in decisions about our health and care, or being treated with dignity in education, welfare and housing. We believe there is an opportunity for the new Government to show leadership by making these protections real in everyday public services.
Our letter to the Prime Minister
Dear Prime Minister,
Congratulations on your appointment as Prime Minister.
At the British Institute of Human Rights, we have been encouraged by your emphasis on improving public services and giving people a greater voice in the decisions that affect them.
We believe this creates an opportunity for a different kind of leadership on human rights: one focused on what the Human Rights Act means in people’s everyday lives and how it can deliver better outcomes.
Too often, public discussion of the Human Rights Act and European Convention on Human Rights is dominated by constitutional debate and immigration figures. Yet these protections are also about all of us, every day. Ensuring we are properly involved in decisions about our health, care or education; ensuring disabled children and their families are treated with dignity and respect; that we can access welfare and housing services without discrimination and where there are serious concerns about public service provision (e.g. unsafe housing) that these are taken seriously and the state acts before harm occurs.
BIHR is the UK’s only organisation focused specifically on the practical implementation of the Human Rights Act. We work across policy and practice with people, communities and public bodies in health, care, education, welfare and housing. This gives us a distinctive insight into where the Act is already helping improve decisions and outcomes, as well as where there are barriers to making those protections real.
We would welcome a clear commitment from your Government to practical Human Rights Act implementation and to improving public understanding of how these protections affect everyday life. We believe this would support better public services, stronger accountability and greater public trust, while helping move the national conversation about human rights beyond the political flashpoints - which too often misunderstand the law- to the difference human rights law makes across the UK.
We would be very pleased to meet with you and/or your policy team to share what BIHR is seeing on the ground and discuss how our evidence, lived-experience insight and practical expertise could support your policy priorities.
Kind regards