We at the GMLC are a campaigning organisation. We are actively fighting Government cuts to legal aid and for the restoration of funding and support for all who need legal advice and representation. We are also fighting to change Government welfare reform policy. The vulnerable in our community face real hardship, and we are using our experience enact real change through strategic litigation. On this page you can find out all about our campaigning activities.
By Broho Nemetsky Brocho is a volunteer at the GMLC. She is interested in learning about our rights, and helping others to do the same. She works as a paralegal at Brian Barr Solicitors, and hopes to work as a Barrister. What is the gig economy? Most of us are familiar with companies like Uber…
This article is written by Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe, an aspiring barrister called to the Middle Temple and qualified mediator, currently working as a self-employed advocate on the northern circuit in general civil litigation matters. As a volunteer for GMLC, Jennifer aims to draw attention to GMLC’s causes and assist readers with gaining knowledge and understanding. Below,…
One of the Greater Manchester Law Centre’s core principles is that everyone has a right to a secure home. We work with other community groups to campaign for tenants’ rights and to end homelessness. In September, our housing solicitor Kathleen Cosgrove provided legal advice to members of the renters union ACORN, who were having difficulties in…
The voluntary sector should not be helping the government implement the iniquitous and inhumane restrictions on benefits represented by Universal Credit. It is not the role of the voluntary advice organisations to take government money to implement something that is fundamentally against the best interests of those they are supposed to be supporting – GMLC…
Janne Heederik is a volunteer with the Greater Manchester Law Centre. She is pursuing a PhD in anthropology, researching welfare reform in Greater Manchester. As a volunteer, she hopes to contribute more to the Manchester community and use her research skills outside of academia as well. The Greater Manchester Law Centre provides free, professional…
We are pleased to be the focus of a feature article by Nick Nicholas Prescott in The Meteor, Manchester’s Independent Media, on the topic of Legal Aid and the wider context of austerity. With their permission we are publishing the full article here: How austerity is killing legal aid and restricting access to justice We often see…
An exciting new project is underway to establish a flagship community centre in the heart of Manchester. The People’s Centre Project – a collaboration between the Manchester Trades Union Council and Manchester Unemployed Work Centre, working alongside the People’s History Museum and Manchester City Council – is currently exploring turning Trade Union Congress premises at…
Sign the petition today: click here “The right to decent housing is a basic human right. Far from guaranteeing such a right, UK law seems designed to obviate it. The absence of rent controls, the unfettered use of property for the purpose of financial speculation by investors, the removal of the powers and the…
Greater Manchester has a fantastic network of hard-working and dedicated organisations providing useful help and advice to those experiencing poverty. However, knowing exactly where to turn to can be challenging. Thanks to the excellent work of our friends at the Greater Manchester Poverty Action (GMPA) finding out how to reach these organisations is now easier than…
A report published last week by the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Enforcing Human Rights, highlighted “grave concerns for access to justice, the rule of law, and enforcement of human rights in the UK” caused by cuts,[1] making enforcement of human rights “simply unaffordable” for some of the most vulnerable people.[2] The chair of the…