The Conservative party has vowed to intensify efforts to curb illegal traveler sites if returned to power, proposing withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the scrapping of the Human Rights Act as key measures. The party asserts that these steps would grant them the authority to prevent individuals from occupying encampments indefinitely and to address what they describe as a 'two-tier' system in planning enforcement.
Conservatives accuse the Labour party of weakening protections for the countryside and undermining enforcement, citing a 35 percent increase in caravans on unauthorized sites since the last general election. The party highlighted Kent as a particular area of concern, with five new illegal sites appearing in Sandway within nine months. In some instances, travelers reportedly move onto fields immediately after council offices close for bank holidays, establish hardstanding for static caravans, and subsequently ignore orders to leave.
Sir James Cleverly, the Tories' communities spokesman, stated that communities are forced to tolerate lawbreaking by a minority of travelers, negatively impacting local populations who feel abandoned. He emphasized the need for police and councils to receive backing for robust intervention and declared that leaving the ECHR would end the "soft-touch approach" allegedly favored by Labour, ensuring equal treatment under the law.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp added that rulebreakers must face punishment, a principle that should apply universally. The article notes that previous tough laws enacted by a Conservative government, which provided police with enhanced powers to evict individuals from unauthorized encampments, were invalidated by judges shortly before the 2024 election. The High Court had ruled these rules constituted unlawful race discrimination against Gypsies and travelers under human rights law.
In response to these legal challenges, Labour proposed banning travelers from returning to unauthorized sites for three months, a measure the Tories deem "effectively useless" as it allows for repeated occupation of a handful of sites. The Conservatives' proposed solutions include imposing indefinite return bans and granting police a new power to remove travelers from a site at the landowner's request, rather than solely in cases of significant damage or distress.
The party also aims to prohibit retrospective planning applications for caravan sites, ending the "build first, apply for permission later" practice. However, representatives from the traveler community, such as Cliff Codona of the National Travellers' Action Group, claim that planning applications are often halted once an applicant's Gypsy identity is known. A Labour spokesperson countered that the Conservatives left the planning system in disarray and stated that leaving the ECHR would jeopardize partnerships crucial for removing individuals who arrive illegally.