I realise that in our polarised times it seems anathema. But Conservatives were instrumental in building Europe's human rights framework. Churchill was Council of Europe's cheerleader, David Maxwell Fyfe chaired the European Convention on Human Rights drafting committee
There have been plenty of liberally-minded Conservatives over the years. To build a sustainable liberal and progressive state you need to form a coalition of progressive voices from both sides of the aisle. It is destructive to make human rights about party politics.
See
The Human Rights Act is a great example of the bad things that happen when you make what should be a cross-party exercise which is good for everyone about party politics. The Tories turned against the HRA for no reason other ideology over Europe and Blair. The country suffers
The current approach of both parties - Manichaeism (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaei…), good vs evil (even within the party, and of course outside) - will just make their policies time limited. As they are painted bright red or blue instead of being about what's good for the people
And you can guarantee that as soon as the next lot comes in (which in unstable times happens regularly as voters lose patience with ideological extremes) they inevitably look for the policies with the bright red or blue paint on to burn down. The real losers are the voters
Equal marriage is one of the great progressive achievements in recent decades. And it was a Lib Dem/Tory coalition which achieved it. Not saying that was an inherently progressive government (as austerity was a disaster for rights) but it is an example of what can be achieved
