Leading with Bravery: Liberty’s Strategy 2026-2029

Human rights are increasingly seen to work against us instead of for us. Liberty can win in the courts, but we also need to be winning in the court of public opinion.

A rights-respecting society doesn’t happen by accident. It is built when people understand their rights, believe they matter, and are willing to stand up for them.

We need to play a leadership role in setting out what is at stake, engage with complex issues with courage, and bridge generational and other divides. We need to tell an ambitious, positive and inclusive story about our freedoms and rights that speaks to people and everyday lives.

Key priorities in this work will be:

• building a media and online presence which position Liberty as the leading voice on human rights and civil liberties in the UK, and where Liberty advances principled, courageous and independent positions.
• telling a compelling and inclusive story to existing and new audiences about how the foundations of our democracy are at risk, explaining how what seem like standalone policy and political positions are part of a tried and tested anti-democratic playbook.
• delivering strategic campaign and legal wins on high-profile issues which speak to people’s lives and sense of fairness and justice, particularly where they impact marginalised communities, and which build new and broader audiences.

The government has immense power over many aspects of our everyday lives and also has a responsibility to protect our freedoms.

We need to protect our rights and freedoms from any overreach of state power, and protect the systems and laws which keep us safe and ensure we are all treated fairly.

Key priorities in this work will be:

• protecting the European Convention on Human Rights, the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act.
• protecting the right to protest and reclaiming freedom of expression
• ensuring we are equipped in advance to protect rights which come under threat.

We are at the foothills of profound social change, from the cultural movements which are overturning shared assumptions on freedom, equality, and democracy, to the technological revolution affecting every aspect of our everyday lives.

We need to design new systems, safeguards and institutions now, to advance our rights and freedoms and those of our children. We need to build on existing partnerships and develop new ones across different sectors, bringing design and innovation skills and experience into this work.

Key priorities in this work will be:

• developing and promoting future rights-based guardrails across specific areas of technology, in particular the use of data and AI, which will increasingly affect our lives, for example biometrics and predictive policing.
• developing future-based proposals on the use and over-use of counter-terror powers by the government across different policy areas.
• developing proposals to ensure the UK constitution is robust and future-proof.