Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Leader of the House – in the Senedd at 2:38 pm on 28 February 2018.

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Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 2:38, 28 February 2018

Well, I think there's a possibility of that, but as I said, at the moment, the UK Government's plans to reform human rights are on hold—which I'm delighted to hear them say—until the UK's withdrawal from the EU is finalised. This was confirmed in the Conservative 2017 general election manifesto, one of the only bits of it that I greeted with any enthusiasm. It says:

'We will not repeal or replace the Human Rights Act while the process of Brexit is underway but we will consider our human rights legal framework when the process of leaving the EU concludes. We will remain signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights for the duration of the next Parliament.'

So, that's their current position. Our position very clearly is, as I say, we like the Human Rights Act as it is. We like being a member of the convention on human rights. We think that's fundamental to our culture and our society and we'll continue to push for that. But, quite rightly, we will keep a weather eye on what might need to be done, and while we're discussing the continuity Bill, I'm sure we'll be bearing some of those issues in mind.