How Farage's latest 'leave' plan could work - and impact you

Nigel Farage has said he would take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if Reform win the next election.

The party's leader also reaffirmed his pledge to repeal the Human Rights Act and disapply three other international treaties acting as "roadblocks" to deporting anyone entering the UK illegally. In a speech about tackling illegal migration, he said a Reform government would detain and deport any migrants arriving illegally, including women and children, and they would "never, ever be allowed to stay".

Sky News looks at what the ECHR is, how the UK could leave, and what could happen to human rights protections if it does. What is the ECHR? On 4 November 1950, the 12 member states of the newly formed Council of Europe (different to the EU) signed the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms - otherwise known as the ECHR.

It came into force on 3 September 1953 and has since been signed by an additional 34 Council of Europe members who have joined, bringing the total to 46 signatories. The treaty was drafted in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Holocaust to protect people from the most serious human rights violations.

It was also in response to the growth of Stalinism in central and Eastern Europe to protect members from communist subversion. The treaty was the first time fundamental human rights were guaranteed in law.

Sir Winston Churchill helped establish the Council of Europe and was a driving force behind the ECHR, which came from the Charter of Human Rights that he championed and was drafted by British lawyers. To be a signatory of the ECHR, a state has to be a member of the Council of Europe - and they must "respect pluralist democracy, the rule of law and human rights".

There are 18 sections, including the most well-known: Article 1 (the right to life), Article 3 (prohibition of torture), Article 6 (right to a fair trial), Article 8 (right to private and family life) and Article 10 (right to freedom of expression). The ECHR has been used to halt the deportation of migrants in 13 out of 29 UK cases since 1980.

ECHR protections are enforced in the UK through the Human Rights Act 1998, which incorporates most ECHR rights into domestic law. This means individuals can bring cases to UK courts to argue their ECHR rights have been violated, instead of having to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Article 8 is the main section that has been used to stop illegal migrant deportations, but Article 3 has also been successfully used. Read more:Why Farage's small boats plan is not actually about policyLegal expert explains if Farage deportation plan would work How is it actually used? The ECHR is interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) - you'll have to bear with us on the confusingly similar acronyms.

The convention is interpreted under the "living instrument doctrine.