We have seen too many arbitrary Strasbourg diktats based on the whims of European judges - from prisoner voting to blocking deportation of Abu Qatada - rather than a sober reading of the sensible list of core freedoms in the European Convention itself.
Beyond the U.S. and E.U., Britain should deepen ties with the Commonwealth and the rising powers of Asia and Latin America - calibrated to our national interest in promoting the global goods of free trade, democracy, and basic human rights.
Feminists are now amongst the most obnoxious bigots.
Despite egregious human rights abuses, military dictatorship in Greece, and Russian atrocities in Chechnya, no state has ever been voted out of the Council of Europe.
Far from protecting children, the abuse of Article 8 risks making them pawns - subject to coercion or worse - as part of a criminal's desperate struggle to stay in Britain.
When Britain signed up to the European Convention and its later protocols, the words 'universal suffrage' were deleted from the 'right to vote' article.
From the directives that govern the way we do business to the chilling effect of the eurozone crisis on our exports, the European Union pervades our daily lives like never before. Like many of my colleagues on the Tory benches, I believe that renegotiating the terms of our membership is vital for this country's long-term prosperity.
Prisoners have benefited disproportionately from 'rights inflation' - the expansion of human rights into unforeseen nooks and crannies.
Of course, we must properly equip our troops.
While we have some of the toughest anti-discrimination laws in the world, we are blind to some of the most flagrant discrimination - against men.
We should protect free speech by repealing offences that stifle legitimate debate - like 'glorification' of terrorism and religious hatred - but take a 'zero-tolerance' approach to extremists inciting violence.
Britain rightly sees herself as a global good citizen, but she must reconcile ambition with power, ends with means - shedding utopian idealism in favour of a more rugged internationalism, putting the national interest first, not last.
The something-for-nothing culture has been championed by a minority of militant union leaders, who threaten strikes with impunity to secure unjustifiable pay hikes.
Shrouded by the 'dodgy dossier,' which warped opaque intelligence, none of the stated war aims in Iraq spoke to the British national interest. Illusory dreams of bringing Western-style democracy to the Middle East were punctured by failures of planning and strategy, as catalogued before the Chilcot Inquiry.
The government rightly resisted pressure to accept Free Movement of people from E.U. countries, to allow us to regain control over our immigration policy.
I cannot support an indefinite backstop arrangement where the E.U. holds a veto over our ability to exit.
In the 21st century, we face new and more intense global competition, spanning the ambitious and industrious economies from Latin America to Asia. To meet the challenge, Britain must rediscover and reward the lost virtue of hard work - a tried and tested route to individual success, national prosperity, and a fairer society.
British intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan swelled the grievances home-grown fanatics fed off, while al Qaeda morphed and re-grouped in lawless sanctuaries from Somalia to Yemen.
The Government should be held accountable if it puts soldiers at unnecessary risk, which is why it is vital to retain full transparency in inquests. Governments also have a moral obligation to ensure proper care for the injured and their families.
Working as a Foreign Office lawyer in 2003, I was less worried by the quibbling over U.N. resolutions on Iraq than the coalition's capacity to effect positive change.
