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CultureQuiet 15d · day 15

Patrick Stewart sketch on ECHR circulates online

A video of the actor performing a comedic piece about the European Court of Human Rights resurfaces across social platforms.

newest coverage 14d agosummary written 14d ago6 pieces41 likes & upvotes1 comments RedditBluesky

What to know

  • Patrick Stewart's sketch on the ECHR—apparently framed as a parody of Monty Python's "what have the Romans ever done for us?"—has resurfaced online a decade after its 2016 publication.
  • Discussion focuses on the court's practical effects on British law, particularly tensions between fundamental rights protections and immigration/deportation policy.
  • The sketch's circulation reflects ongoing British debate about the ECHR's role and relevance to the UK legal system.

The dispute Whether the ECHR's protections of fundamental rights outweigh its practical constraints on immigration enforcement and other policy areas. · positions read across 2 posts and comments

many voices

ECHR protects essential rights but has problematic secondary effects on law enforcement and deportation.

  • “for all the important things like a right to fair trial and protection against slavery you're right in that it makes no difference if we're in or out, but on the smaller (but still fundamentally important) issues like being able to deport…”

    _9tail_ · Reddit ↗
some voices

Stewart is a gifted actor worth watching for his performance alone.

  • “I'll just go and watch him blast through every emotion while mind-melding with Sarek. What an actor.”

    RedditorSlug · Reddit ↗

Patrick Stewart Actor and performerThe Guardian Publisher

Patrick Stewart sketch on ECHR circulates online
theguardian.com

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments

Peak 2 pieces in 4h at Oct 29, 4 PM; 6 pieces over 16 days (4 posts · 2 comments) Oct 29, 4 PM — 2 pieces · 1 post · 1 comment — Reddit 2Oct 29, 8 PM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Reddit 1Oct 30, 12 AM — quietOct 30, 4 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Oct 30, 8 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Bluesky 1, Reddit 1Oct 30, 12 PM — quietOct 30, 4 PM — quietOct 30, 8 PM — quietOct 31, 12 AM — quietOct 31, 4 AM — quietOct 31, 8 AM — quietOct 31, 12 PM — quietOct 31, 4 PM — quietOct 31, 8 PM — quietNov 1, 12 AM — quietNov 1, 3 AM — quietNov 1, 7 AM — quietNov 1, 11 AM — quietNov 1, 3 PM — quietNov 1, 7 PM — quietNov 1, 11 PM — quietNov 2, 3 AM — quietNov 2, 7 AM — quietNov 2, 11 AM — quietNov 2, 3 PM — quietNov 2, 7 PM — quietNov 2, 11 PM — quietNov 3, 3 AM — quietNov 3, 7 AM — quietNov 3, 11 AM — quietNov 3, 3 PM — quietNov 3, 7 PM — quietNov 3, 11 PM — quietNov 4, 3 AM — quietNov 4, 7 AM — quietNov 4, 11 AM — quietNov 4, 3 PM — quietNov 4, 7 PM — quietNov 4, 11 PM — quietNov 5, 3 AM — quietNov 5, 7 AM — quietNov 5, 11 AM — quietNov 5, 3 PM — quietNov 5, 7 PM — quietNov 5, 11 PM — quietNov 6, 3 AM — quietNov 6, 7 AM — quietNov 6, 11 AM — quietNov 6, 3 PM — quietNov 6, 7 PM — quietNov 6, 11 PM — quietNov 7, 3 AM — quietNov 7, 7 AM — quietNov 7, 11 AM — quietNov 7, 3 PM — quietNov 7, 7 PM — quietNov 7, 11 PM — quietNov 8, 3 AM — quietNov 8, 7 AM — quietNov 8, 11 AM — quietNov 8, 3 PM — quietNov 8, 7 PM — quietNov 8, 11 PM — quietNov 9, 3 AM — quietNov 9, 7 AM — quietNov 9, 11 AM — quietNov 9, 3 PM — quietNov 9, 7 PM — quietNov 9, 11 PM — quietNov 10, 3 AM — quietNov 10, 7 AM — quietNov 10, 11 AM — quietNov 10, 3 PM — quietNov 10, 7 PM — quietNov 10, 11 PM — quietNov 11, 3 AM — quietNov 11, 7 AM — quietNov 11, 11 AM — quietNov 11, 3 PM — quietNov 11, 7 PM — quietNov 11, 11 PM — quietNov 12, 3 AM — quietNov 12, 7 AM — quietNov 12, 11 AM — quietNov 12, 3 PM — quietNov 12, 7 PM — quietNov 12, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quiet 12
Oct 31Nov 2Nov 4Nov 6Nov 8Nov 10now · 3:08 AM ET
  1. 2

    Sketch shared to Bluesky

    The sketch is shared multiple times on Bluesky, with the Guardian video link gaining 26 points by late morning.

  2. 1

    Sketch resurfaces on Reddit

    A YouTube link to the Patrick Stewart ECHR sketch is posted to Reddit, reigniting discussion of the piece.

    “I think the general point against the ECHR is that the fundamental rights enshrined in the treaty are ones that have been British rights for nigh on a millennium, but there are also some pretty terrible second order consequences of how it interacts with our legal system.”
    — _9tail_, Reddit commenter · source

    • I think the general point against the ECHR is that the fundamental rights enshrined in the treaty are ones that have been British rights for nigh on a millennium, but there are also some pretty terrible second order consequences of how it interacts with our legal system. So for all the important things like a right to fair trial and protection…

      _9tail_r/ukpolitics15d agoview on r/ukpolitics ↗
    1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch

    • I'll just go and watch him blast through every emotion while mind-melding with Sarek. What an actor.

      RedditorSlugr/ukpolitics15d agoview on r/ukpolitics ↗
    all of them →
  3. background

    Patrick Stewart performs ECHR sketch — Patrick Stewart performs a comedic sketch about the European Court of Human Rights, later published by The Guardian.

What people are saying 0 voices from 0 sites · best of 2 · verbatim