Over the course of 2015, a series of events have marked the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta signing, which started the evolution of our freedom and democracy.
For 800 years, the ideas of Magna Carta - the safeguarding of rights, privileges and liberties over the state – gathered momentum and increased in influence. These themes have not only stood the test of time, but have a legacy which has seen off attempts at annulment and repeal.
I was pleased to write to schools across the town in anticipation of not only this anniversary, but also the 750th anniversary of the Montfort Parliament, where elected representatives of the shires and boroughs came together for the first time – the first House of Commons.
To mark this, I was pleased to launch a local flag competition, and I am delighted that the winning local Crawley entry can be found at: http://flags.parliament.uk/galleries/flags
Magna Carta helped inspire the 1689 Bill of Rights and both documents helped formulate the US Bill of Rights a century later.
There has been much talk recently about reform to modern day human rights laws. I am extremely concerned that some in fervent support of the 1998 Human Rights Act would have us believe that there were no human rights prior to this piece of legislation.
The reality is that the concept of such freedoms has been in existence since before the founding of our United Kingdom, and indeed since before the formation of our modern parliamentary democracy.
I support three main reforms with regard to more recent human rights legislation.
Firstly, the European Court of Human Rights should not be able to over-rule the UK Supreme Court.
Secondly, the European Court must no longer able to order a change in British laws, and it should become an advisory body only.
Thirdly, we need a greater balance between rights and responsibilities in our laws.
The Court in Strasbourg has stated that murderers cannot be sentenced to life in prison. They claim that this violates an article which is designed to prohibit ‘torture’ and ‘inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’. Apparently this means that the most vile crimes cannot be punished by life in prison.
A British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities would put the UK first.
This new law will mean that terrorists and serious criminals who pose a significant threat to the security and safety of UK citizens would lose their right to stay here under human rights laws.
Of course, actions speak louder than words. In the final days of the last Parliament, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was passed. This piece of legislation is the first of its kind in Europe, and one of the first in the world to specifically address slavery and trafficking in the 21st century.
The UK will continue to fight to improve and stand up for human rights, both at home and abroad.