The Tonbridge MP introduced his candidacy on Thursday, placing British border safety entrance and centre to his bid to grow to be the chief – initially a minimum of – of the opposition.
In his private manifesto, unveiled within the Telegraph, Mr Tugendhat mentioned: “We all know that if establishments don’t serve the British individuals and make it more durable to regulate our personal borders, then we must exempt ourselves from them, or go away their jurisdiction.”
The ECHR membership is one in every of a number of components that may divide Tories however Mr Tugendhat, typically seen as a reasonable, has mentioned “widespread sense” will prevail to unite the occasion.
He added: “These are common sense Conservative positions. They’re non-negotiable for me and, I might hope, for anybody else who places themselves ahead.”
That is the lowdown on the ECHR and why it’s a political battleground.

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What’s the European Conference on Human Rights?
The ECHR is a treaty that established the European Courtroom of Human Rights as a supranational courtroom of attraction for instances to be heard after they have gone so far as they’ll in home courts.
It took impact in 1953 and the ECHR was arrange in 1959. It guidelines on particular person or state functions alleging violations of the civil and political rights set out within the conference. Since 1998, it has sat as a full-time courtroom and people can apply to it immediately.
Over a 60-plus-year historical past, the courtroom has delivered greater than 10,000 judgments, that are binding on the international locations involved, main governments to change their laws and administrative practices in a variety of areas.
The ECHR’s case legislation makes the conference a strong instrument for assembly new challenges and consolidating the rule of legislation and democracy in Europe.
The courtroom relies in Strasbourg, within the Human Rights Constructing designed by British architect Richard Rogers in 1994 — a constructing whose picture is thought worldwide.
From right here, it screens respect for the human rights of 700 million Europeans within the 46 Council of Europe member states which have ratified the conference.

The previous authorities’s plans to ship migrants to Rwanda have been the topic of protests (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
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What would leaving the ECHR imply?
Regardless of Brexit, the UK stays a member however the Conservative Occasion has had an extended historical past of disagreement with the Strasbourg courtroom and has, on quite a few events, not dominated out leaving.
This notably got here to gentle when then overseas secretary Dominic Raab sought to avoid the courtroom by introducing a ‘British invoice of rights’.
This didn’t grow to be established as legal professionals have argued that having a British invoice whereas nonetheless being a member of the ECHR wouldn’t free the UK from Strasbourg guidelines.
Nonetheless, Tories have pressed on and hunted for such a invoice to make it simpler to deport overseas criminals by limiting the circumstances during which their proper to household life would trump public security and the necessity to take away them.
Below ECHR conventions, the coverage was dominated illegal which annoyed the Tories and finally meant no planes have been ever despatched to the east African nation.
So whereas leaving just isn’t an concept more likely to take a foothold below the brand new authorities – its recognition amongst Conservatives means the difficulty is unlikely to go away any time quickly.