Demonstrators wave England and Union flags as they stand outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, near London, Sunday, July 27, 2025.

A cabinet minister has today confirmed that the government is looking into how it might “reform” the European Convention on Human Rights.

While this is very careful language – and does not suggest the UK could leave the ECHR any time soon – it still demonstrates just how the conversation around migration has escalated.

Here’s why this is a significant moment.

What is the European Convention on Human Rights?

The Convention, known as the ECHR, is a legally binding international treaty meant to guarantee everyone’s fundamental human rights in law for the first time.

It was drafted after World War 2 in a bid to look after global human rights – and Britain was a core part of its creation.

The UK signed the Convention in 1951, although it did not come into force until 1953. It protects people from torture, killing, slavery, and enshrines their right for privacy and freedom of speech.

It is enforced by the European Court of Human Rights and not at all related to the EU.

The UK now has the Human Rights Act, too, meaning some national human rights cases –........

© HuffPost