We'll crack down on illegal traveller sites once we quit ECHR, Tories vow

By MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR Published: 23:17, 16 August 2026 | Updated: 23:18, 16 August 2026 The Tories have vowed to crack down on illegal traveller sites if they return to power. By withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights and scrapping the Human Rights Act, the Conservatives said they would have the power to stop groups returning to encampments indefinitely. The party also promised to stop abuse of the planning process if it wins the next election, ending a 'two-tier' system under which travellers are allowed to get away with breaking the law while homeowners are punished for minor breaches. It accused Labour of weakening protection for the countryside and undermining enforcement, with figures showing the number of caravans on unauthorised sites has risen by 35 per cent since the election. Kent has become a particular hotspot for illegal sites, with five new ones springing up in the hamlet of Sandway in just nine months, to the fury of locals. In many cases travellers move onto fields as soon as councils close for bank holiday weekends, putting down hardstanding for static caravans, then ignoring demands to leave. On Sunday, the Tories' communities spokesman Sir James Cleverly, who has fought a site in his own Essex constituency, said: 'Communities across our country are forced to put up with lawbreaking by a small minority of travellers. In some areas, illegal sites and unauthorised development of legal sites are having a major negative impact on the local population, and residents feel abandoned. 'Police and councils need our backing to intervene and take robust action. 'With new freedoms gained by leaving the ECHR, we will end the soft-touch approach favoured by Labour and ensure everyone is treated equally under the law.' Pictured: The field adjacent to the tiny Hamlet of Willows Green, where travellers descended after the local council offices closed on Friday afternoon Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp added: 'Those who break the rules must be punished. That is a basic principle that must apply equally to all communities.' Tough laws introduced by the last Tory government, giving police extra powers to evict people from unauthorised encampments, were struck down by judges just before the 2024 election. The High Court declared that the rules amounted to unlawful race discrimination against gypsies and travellers under human rights law. In response, Labour said travellers would be banned from returning to unauthorised sites for just three months rather than a year. But the Tories said this is 'effectively useless', as travellers can simply keep going round a handful of sites. As well as imposing indefinite return bans, the Tories said they would also give police a new power to remove travellers from a site if requested by the landowner, rather than only if significant damage or distress has been caused. And the party said it would end the practice of 'build first, apply for permission later' by prohibiting retrospective planning applications for caravan sites. Meanwhile, travellers told the BBC they had no option but to break the law. Cliff Codona, who runs the National Travellers' Action Group, claimed that 'as soon as they know you're a gypsy' a planning application is 'stopped dead in its tracks'.  A Labour spokesman said: 'The Tories left our planning system in a mess. 'Not only has this Labour Government put in place incredibly strong safeguards for developments in the green belt, we are also ensuring that there is clearer and more consistent approach to planning. 'Leaving the ECHR would destroy the partnerships we rely on to remove those who arrive here illegally.'