The news that Michael Gove is appointed Justice Secretary with the job of introducing a Bill of Rights which enables the UK to withdraw from the human rights structure of Europe including its court of which we are a founding member has significant implications. On the face of it the administration of UK justice would be simplified and deportation of terrorists would be cleared from all the rigmarole of endless appeals to the European Court, delaying by years their exit.
Yet there is more at stake. First it would be a terrible signal to send to the rest of Europe that we were going to depart from the common standard which has been the bulwark of individual freedoms in the post war era. It would be a sign that the UK is walking away from something both treasured and special. It would be popular in England. But in Scotland? Would Scots give up the protection of their human rights by Europe and cede them to a Tory dominated England? For that would be the implication if not the application. And in populist politics implication is everything. Could this be just the trigger for another referendum for the Scots to go? Because backed by a big issue about their rights and freedoms the SNP could have just the trigger they are waiting for. And next time they will win.