Rights Removal Bill Shelved by New Prime Minister

On the 7th September 2022, the new Prime Minister of the UK, Liz Truss, announced that the Bill of Rights, which would replace the Human Rights Act, has been halted.

The Bill, dubbed the Rights Removal Bill by civil society because of its regressiveness, had been introduced to the UK Parliament by former Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab, under the leadership of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Following Johnson’s resignation and the election of Liz Truss, Dominic Raab has been replaced as Justice Secretary by Brandon Lewis MP, and his flagship Bill has been shelved.

Civil society organisations and campaigners from across the UK have celebrated the announcement, but it must be noted that the Bill is not being scrapped entirely. Instead, an article from The Guardian suggests that the Government is taking time to assess and possibly re-draft it. There is a possibility that the Government would consider new ways to achieve the same objectives that the Rights Removal Bill did; to make it harder for ordinary people to hold the Government to account and realise their rights.

Find out more from The Guardian here

What was so bad about the Rights Removal Bill? Find out more here