Robert Latham

• IN January 2020, I supported Keir Starmer’s leadership bid to save the Labour Party. On 4 July, I will vote Labour to save Britain.

The British Constitution is a delicate edifice built upon the three pillars of Democracy, the Rule of Law, and Human Rights. One cannot exist without the others. Over the past 14 years, all have been undermined by the unbridled abuse of power.

The Tories now see the law as a set of rules to be obeyed by others, but not themselves. On a personal level, neither Johnson nor Sunak felt bound by the Covid lockdown rules. Keir would have resigned had he been found to be in breach.

In 2016, when the High Court ruled that it was not open to the government to implement Brexit through the royal prerogative and without parliamentary approval, the Tory press castigated the judiciary as “the Enemies of the People”. Johnson went on to unlawfully prorogue parliament as he sought to impose the hardest and most damaging Brexit deal.

These actions have been against the background of a raft of measures to curtail the jurisdiction of the Administrative Court to hold government to account. Cuts to legal aid have restricted access to justice for the most vulnerable members of society.

In 1950, the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was adopted to ensure that the most serious human rights violations that had occurred during the Second World War should never be repeated. With the current wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the risk of these conflicts escalating, we should all nurture the work of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Last November, having considered the evidence submitted by the UN, the Supreme Court held that there was a real risk of ill treatment were refugees to be sent to Rwanda. The government’s response was the Safety of Rwanda Act which declares Rwanda to be a safe place.  It is the first time that a government has passed legislation to declare that black is white.

The human suffering in Gaza is horrific.  A forensic examination by an independent and impartial body has been essential to investigate and determine whether war crimes have been committed whether by Hamas or by members of the Israeli government. Our government should have welcomed the preliminary judgments of the ICJ and the decision of the ICC prosecutor to seek arrest warrants against Hamas and certain Israeli leaders.

Keir has a track record of promoting human rights both in his private practice, his work in Northern Ireland and as DPP. The ICC prosecutor has acted on the advice of a Panel of Experts which includes Helena Kennedy and Amal Clooney, both of whom are colleagues at Doughty Street Chambers.

The Tories’ approach to democracy has been to gerrymander the rules to their political advantage. Voters must now provide proof of identity.  New rules for electing the London Mayor were introduced to make it more difficult for Sadiq Khan to be re-elected. The vote has been extended for those who live abroad. The limit on election expenses was recently increased, when the Tories believed that they could outspend Labour. Our electoral rules should not be determined at the whim of the party in power.

Keir will inherit a bankrupt economy. His ability to reverse many of the worst measures introduced over the past fourteen years will be limited.

But on 5 July, we should look forward to the return of integrity to government and a culture of public service focussed on meeting the needs of the many and not the greed of the few.

ROBERT LATHAM, NW1