Labour demands the restoration of legal aid and an enforceable right to justice
Legal aid campaigners demonstrating in Westminster in 2013, when the cuts came into effect [Image: Alamy Stock Photo].
The day after it was revealed that the Conservative Party has cut legal aid to members of the public by 20 per cent – severely restricting access to justice for the poor – he has released a report demanding justice for all.
And the report has been helmed by Lord Bach, who spoke so eloquently against the Tory policy in a debate This Site reported, years ago.
An additional £400m a year should be spent restoring access to a more generous system of legal aid, according to a Labour-backed report which calls for a legally enforceable right to justice.
The two-year-long review, led by the former justice minister Lord Bach, launches an alternative vision of equality before the law and condemns austerity policies that have imposed a “disproportionate” share of cuts on the legal system.
Commissioned by Jeremy Corbyn and launched on the eve of the Labour party conference, the study focuses criticism on the coalition government’s Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (Laspo) Act 2012, which severely restricted eligibility and the scope of legal support.
Source: Labour-backed report calls for more generous legal aid system | Law | The Guardian
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I hate these tory b**–*-s they’ve done everything they can to kill off the disabled, homeless & people with mental issues.. It’s been 7 long years since cameron (we’re all in it together.. & moneys no object) sat on the throne of evil..
I’m not very clever I have a low iq… . but how come it’s 7 years later & people are still dying because of this government? Nothing seems to have changed in fact it’s got worse… IDS for example dreampt up this uc nonsensical 16 billion pounds wasted so far & also helped exterminate 1000s of souls… no one in tory government seems to give a damn do they? I mean they go home after a hard days work to a nice cooked meal while we have to struggle heat or eat… no one seems to care no one..
JC was promoting this inequality a long while ago and was one of the very few who got off his backside to debate amongst the upcoming legal students and whereever he could get an ear just how unfair this situation was. It has less impact on those that do not need financial help sorting out legal matters or who have legal fee insurances however for those without any means this was an important facility for sorting out unfair legal situations. Unfortunately it was never well managed with many effluent, yes affluent, taking advantage who should never have had access.
Definitely a very strong political point to reinstate asap or at least strongly lobby as
the current opposition .
As a result of not being able to afford legal representation, I ended up homeless and nearly in the not-so-funny farm. I was at my wits’ end yet could find nobody to help me. What sort of country supports and protects criminals, simply because they have money? Shambolic! (Thanks, Jacob Rees-Mogg).