Threatening to Leave the ECHR would be the Perfect Terrain for Next Conservative Election Campaign

I’m sure I was not alone in heaving a sigh of relief last week when the Prime Minister announced a new deal with the EU – the ‘Windsor Framework’ – to improve certain aspects of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

For a few heady days, it seemed like the worst tensions of Brexit were behind us. Britain and the EU were back on friendly terms, working in good faith to resolve their differences, and looking forward to restoring cooperation in other areas of mutual benefit as well.

International partners also hailed the deal as a constructive breakthrough. The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed titled ‘Britain is Getting Back on Track’, praising Rishi Sunak’s work to repair relations with the EU and arguing that, if the Windsor Framework holds up, it would also “remove a stumbling block in US-UK relations”.

Heralding the UK’s unswerving support for Ukraine, participation in AUKUS – the agreement to work with the US to help Australia build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines – and the UK’s application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership, the article even suggested that ‘Global Britain’ could finally be “becoming a reality”. 

But this celebration may be premature…

Alexandra Hall Hall for the Byline Times.