The Conservative Party has pledged to intensify enforcement against illegal traveller encampments if it returns to government, linking such measures to a proposed withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the repeal of the Human Rights Act. Party officials argue that these changes would grant authorities greater ability to impose indefinite bans on travellers returning to unauthorised sites and address what they describe as a failure to properly uphold planning regulations.
The Conservatives have criticized the current situation as creating a “two-tier” system of enforcement, under which travellers can allegedly flout planning rules with limited consequences while homeowners face stricter penalties for minor infractions. According to the party, the number of caravans on unauthorised sites has increased by 35 percent since the last general election. The county of Kent has been highlighted as a significant area of concern, with five new illegal encampments reportedly established in Sandway over nine months, generating complaints from local residents.
Sir James Cleverly, the Conservative communities spokesman, who has previously confronted an illegal site in his Essex constituency, said that communities feel abandoned due to ongoing unlawful activity by a minority of travellers. He emphasized that police and councils require stronger support to take “robust action” and that leaving the ECHR would enable the government to end what he described as the “soft-touch approach” taken by the current Labour administration, thus ensuring equal treatment under the law.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp echoed these sentiments, asserting that enforcing the rules equally and punishing breaches is a fundamental principle necessary for all communities. The Conservatives’ proposals include granting police broader powers to remove travellers from sites upon landowner request without needing to prove significant damage or distress, as is currently required. They also promise to outlaw retrospective planning permissions for caravan sites, aiming to prevent the practice of “build first, apply later.”
These policy ambitions come after previous legislation introduced by the Conservative government, aimed at facilitating faster evictions from unauthorised encampments, was struck down by the High Court shortly before the 2024 election. The court ruled the laws were unlawful race discrimination against gypsies and travellers under human rights provisions. Labour’s response to the ruling was to reduce the ban on return to such sites from one year to three months, a move the Conservatives dismissed as ineffective, contending it allows travellers to rotate through a small number of sites.
Representatives of traveller communities dispute the government’s characterization of the issue. Cliff Codona, leader of the National Travellers’ Action Group, told the BBC that planning applications by gypsies and travellers frequently face insurmountable opposition, often being blocked outright once the applicant’s identity is known.
A Labour spokesperson criticized the Conservatives for leaving the planning system “in a mess,” emphasizing that the current government has implemented strong protections for green belt areas and is working toward more consistent planning enforcement. The spokesperson further warned that withdrawing from the ECHR would undermine vital international partnerships used to manage illegal encampments.
The debate over traveller encampments and enforcement powers remains a contentious issue amid wider discussions about human rights legislation and planning law in the United Kingdom.