As justice ministers from 46 Council of Europe member states gathered in Strasbourg on Wednesday to begin negotiations on modernising the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a joint appeal for sweeping reforms.
In a co-authored commentary published in the Guardian, the two leaders argued that “responsible governments” must respond to public concerns over migration and asylum or risk handing political victories to populist movements. They wrote that mainstream democratic politics “must show it can fix this problem” in order to counter what they described as growing forces of division.
Immigration Pressures Shape UK and Danish Policy
Both Starmer and Frederiksen have introduced more restrictive immigration policies in recent months as European countries grapple with rising numbers of people fleeing conflict, oppression and poverty. Their joint intervention signals a coordinated push to update the ECHR—an agreement dating back to 1953—to address the pressures of 21st-century migration. They stressed that they would “always protect those fleeing war and terror” but insisted that asylum systems “must change with the world.”
Immigration continues to reshape political landscapes across Europe and North America, fuelling the rise of anti-immigrant populist movements and shifting mainstream voter attitudes. Last Friday, US President Donald Trump escalated rhetoric by warning that the EU faces “cultural erasure” unless it tightens its borders and expels undocumented migrants.
Amid this climate, Starmer and Frederiksen called for reforms that reconcile humanitarian protections with public expectations of border control. However, rights groups warn that revisiting rules governing deportation risks weakening protections for vulnerable people, including refugees and victims of persecution.
In the UK, critics accuse Starmer of adopting elements of far-right messaging on immigration, claiming his government is positioning refugees as a threat rather than prioritising humanitarian obligations.
Lammy to Warn of Public Confidence Crisis
UK Justice Secretary David Lammy is expected to tell European counterparts that the ECHR must balance individual rights with the public interest. He will argue that failure to address this balance risks eroding public trust in human rights institutions themselves.
Lammy is expected to highlight pressures on asylum systems, high public demand for border control, and the need to maintain confidence in international justice mechanisms at a time of rising political polarisation.
A New Direction on Asylum Policy
Starmer’s government has already outlined proposals to tighten parts of the UK asylum system, increase removals of individuals without legal claims, and reduce avenues for repeated legal appeals—moves critics say could reduce protections under articles 3 and 8 of the ECHR.
Several of these proposals have drawn opposition from Labour MPs, legal experts and human rights groups, particularly around potential changes to deportation criteria and family rights protections.
The Strasbourg summit marks the most significant test so far of Starmer’s pledge to align stronger border control with human rights principles, while responding to domestic political pressure from rising anti-immigration sentiment.
