Earlier this month the human rights group Liberty coordinated a statement from almost 300 organizations — from homeless charities to veterans groups — calling for a “full-throated” defense of the ECHR and the Human Rights Act, and warning that the way the convention had been used as a political scapegoat over recent years had had “devastating real world consequences.”
One of those signatories, Naomi Smith, chief executive of the Best for Britain campaign group, said the group plans to reconvene after Mahmood’s speech. Best for Britain was set up after Brexit and unsuccessfully campaigned for a second referendum. “We’re certainly not twiddling our thumbs,” Smith said, but she stressed the group is also “giving the government the space to land in the right place” on the issue.
Reverse Midas touch
Allies of Starmer see Labour’s former human rights lawyer leader as one of their most authoritative voices when it comes to making the case for the ECHR.
But other progressives fear a man whose party is streets behind Farage in the polls and beset by factionalism could be an encumbrance.
“If I’m totally honest, I think [Starmer] is a liability for any cause right now because of how poorly he’s performing, and how unpopular he is,” the Green’s Ali, whose party wants to challenge Labour from the left, said.
He’s pushing the Greens’ charismatic new leader Zack Polanski as a strong advocate, pointing out the success of the Brexit campaign’s willingness to get populist under both Farage and Boris Johnson.
“They were both very charismatic figures and both were very populist-style campaigns that were easily digestible,” Ali said.
“I think you always need a plurality of voices in any winning campaign,” Smith of Best for Britain said.