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‘One of the Great Pillars of the Post War Welfare State’
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Lord Beecham could have been talking about the NHS but in fact he was talking about legal aid introduced by the Legal Aid and Advice Act in 1949 and effectively dismantled by the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offender’s Act 2012.
Shortly before the last election I scanned the manifestos of the main parties to see what was in store for legal aid in this country – already under significant threat. All three were silent on the subject. Bear in mind that Labour were in power at the time and probably shy of emphasising their lack of intention to improve access to justice any time soon. And no-one expected the Conservatives to turn the tide.
Move on 5 years. How are the parties proposing to protect access to justice this time? I’ve read the manifestos and can report … nothing of any significance. With the honourable exception of the Green Party that proposes to restore legal aid funding. And the SNP because Scotland has kept Legal Aid...
Read the full article here.
