How legal aid cuts will hit politicians locally
Christopher Sykes looks at how cuts to legal aid could impact local politicians.
Christopher Sykes looks at how cuts to legal aid could impact local politicians.
Last week justice secretary Chris Grayling withdrew his proposal to deny those accused in the criminal courts and reliant on legal aid the right to choose who will represent them.
The truth is we will all be worse off if these proposals become law. The prospect of legal intervention is the surest way of securing a society where respect for human rights, equality and due process guides the behaviour of our decision-makers. This botched attempt to get justice on the cheap would put justice out of reach for all but the most powerful.
Michael Higgs is a Law student at the University of Sheffield One of the basic tenets of any democratic society is ensuring that all classes have access to the legislature, executive and the judiciary. However, thanks to the government’s reformstest
Harriet Williams looks at the reality of life as one of Ken Clarke’s ‘fat cat legal aid lawyers’.
Mike Morgan-Giles reports on government plans for ‘secret courts’, and the use of secret evidence, on the grounds of “national security”.
Will Horwitz reports that MPs’ surgeries will see a dramatic surge in people seeking legal help after the legal aid cuts are introduced in April 2013.
At the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference party members voted overwhelmingly against Ken Clarke and Lord McNally’s plans to cut legal aid by £350 million.
Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan calls on Secretary of State Ken Clarke to listen to the House of Lords and abandon his proposed legal aid cuts.
Jonny Mulligan of the Sound Off for Justice campaign reports on the latest House of Lords defeats for the government in the LASPO bill over legal aid cuts.