GB News has taken a dive into the constituencies across the country where support for a referendum on ECHR is highest after Lord Richard Hermer faced backlash for likening support for leaving the European Convention on Human Rights to Nazi ideology.
Speaking at the Rusi defence think tank on Thursday, Lord Hermer said calls for the UK to quit international agreements echoed similar demands by legal experts in 1930s Germany, who rejected international law and human rights in favour of state power.
Lord Hermer swiftly retracted his comments, issuing a grovelling apology after coming under fire from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick.
A spokesman for the Attorney General said: “The Attorney General gave a speech defending international law which underpins our security, protects against threats from aggressive states like Russia and helps tackle organised immigration crime.
“He rejects the characterisation of his speech by the Conservatives. He acknowledges though that his choice of words was clumsy and regrets having used this reference.”
The apology has not managed to extinguish the firestorm, with Keir Starmer facing calls to sack Lord Hermer after the Nazi remarks.
The remark went down particularly badly among Reform loyalists, who viewed it as a personal smear against their party leader, as Nigel Farage has pledged that his first act as Prime Minister, if elected, would be to withdraw from the ECHR.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has stopped short of backing a withdrawal from the convention, while during his ultimately unsuccessful leadership campaign Robert Jenrick told activists the party will "die" unless it advocates leaving the ECHR.
Both The Green Party and the Liberal Democrats said in their manifesto last year that they would stand by the UK’s membership of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Farage has pledged to leaving the ECHR
PA
While Labour has refused to hold a referendum on the topic, a petition setting up demanding a public vote on membership has picked up just under 18,000 signatures.
GB News has now revealed the seats with the highest demand for quitting the convention, according to Petition Map.
Topping the list for most signatures is the constituency of Barrow and Furness. The Red Wall seat in Cumbria which flipped back to Labour at last year's general election has picked up 138 signatures.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Whitehaven and Workigton as well as nearby Carlisle also picked up 53 and 68 signatures respectively.
Ian Lavery's seat in the North East has 59 signatures
Parliament.tv
Other Labour seats also show support for leaving the convention. The Amber Valley constituency has 67 signatures, the Mansfield constituency has 60 signatures.
Clwyd East, held by Becky Gittins of the Labour Party, has 65 signatures while Blyth and Ashington, held by former Labour party chair Ian Lavery has 59 signatures.
It's not just Labour seats where there is support for leaving the convention. The Plaid Cymru seat of Caerfyrddin has 59 signatures while the Liberal Democrat seat in North Devon has 54 signatures.
Meanwhile, former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe's seat of Great Yarmouth has 75 signatures and Nigel Farage's Clacton constituency has 65 signatures.
The map showing the petition about the ECHR
Parliament
Responding to the petition, a Labour spokesman said: "This Government is fully committed to the ECHR and does not propose to support the holding of a referendum on UK membership."
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