Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said prospective Conservative parliamentary candidates for the next general election should believe in the “fundamental” need for Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights. His comments matter because they signal a possible tightening of the party’s stance on human rights law and immigration, and suggest that support for quitting the ECHR could become a test of ideological alignment within the Conservatives.

Philp’s remarks indicate that backing withdrawal from the ECHR may be treated as a core principle for future Tory candidates rather than just one policy position among many. The issue has become politically significant because some Conservatives argue the convention limits the UK’s ability to control immigration and deport foreign offenders, while critics warn that leaving it would have major legal, diplomatic and constitutional consequences. The intervention also points to continuing debate inside the party over how sharply it should define its platform before the next election.