NIGEL Farage’s plan to scrap human rights protections could “accelerate the end of the Union” due to implications for the Good Friday Agreement, an expert has said.
The Reform UK leader has said he would seek to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and repeal the Human Rights Act as part of his proposals to deport hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers.
The plans have been condemned by human rights campaigners.
However, the ECHR is a key part of the Good Friday Agreement, the landmark peace treaty that brought an end to 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland.
Professor Colin Harvey, from Queen’s University in Belfast, said the discussions of removing the protections provided under the Convention bring “serious anxieties and worries” for people in Northern Ireland.
The law professor, who specialises in human rights, argued that this aspect is overlooked by Westminster politicians and will “focus minds” on Irish reunification.
In 2024, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee published evidence on the potential impact of leaving the ECHR, telling MPs that it would trigger a review procedure built into the Good Friday Agreement.
It came after Conservative MPs, then in government in Westminster, were calling for the UK to withdraw from the convention, as it had been used to stop attempts to deport migrants. Current Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in June that she would set up a commission to examine whether the UK should withdraw from the ECHR.
However, Harvey argues that the ECHR and Human Rights Act are “central” to the peace process and power sharing in Northern Ireland and it could have “serious” implications if the UK withdraws.
"This sort of rampaging English nationalism is hugely damaging. England in many ways, is having a sort of senior moment right now,” he explained.
“Without paying much attention to the implications for elsewhere, including Northern Ireland, and the serious impact that their plans will have for our widely praised and admired peace agreement.
"It's a destructive form of English nationalism, they are essentially going to accelerate the end of the Union."
“There would be a serious risk of breaching that agreement, with all the destabilising impacts that would have for the peace process,” he added.
“That is deeply concerning. It was a central argument against the plans of the previous government to repeal and replace the Human Rights Act, the damage it would do to the peace agreement and peace process in Northern Ireland.”
In Northern Ireland, he adds, the conversation has centered around “building on” the foundations of the ECHR and Human Rights Act and “going further”.
He added: “So if there's a government at Westminster that is proposing withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights, repealing the Human Rights Act and basically walking away from core components of the Good Friday Agreement, that will only focus minds further here on the debate about Irish unity."
The Good Friday Agreement allows Northern Ireland the right of self-determination as “a matter of international law”, Harvey added.
“The choice is there for people to leave the UK, the option for a united Ireland. Certainly the toxicity of the post-Brexit conversations and the direction of travel in England will only add further to the argument here about Irish reunification,” he said.
“Because for many people, Irish unity looks like the better bet.
“It also, of course, means automatic re entry to the European Union. What's happening in England, the toxicity of the politics there, and the disregard for something as fundamental as our peace agreement, will only add to that.”
It led to the election of Michelle O’Neill (above) as First Minister, the first time the party had held the role since power sharing began. In 2024 at the General Election, they became the largest party at Westminster among MPs from Northern Ireland.
This, Harvey argues, the impact of Brexit and demographic changes have all had an impact on the conversation around Northern Ireland’s role in the UK.
He said: "I think it's unsurprising after Brexit, watching what's unfolding at Westminster in England, that more and more people are looking rather enviously across the border here on the island and thinking about that option."
