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.
Legal aid ‘decimated’ This week, one of the nation’s top news stories is a topic too often overlooked: the decimation of the Legal aid advice network. Legal disputes affect our homes, our families, our treatment as employees and more. They affect our very survival, for example when unwell or disabled people are left destitute after being…
Racism has always been used to “divide and rule” Half a century of immigration laws in this country have reinforced this – Indian vs West Indian, African vs Australian, “good” (often white) migrants vs “bad” migrants. And “benefit scroungers” vs “bogus immigrants”. The scandal that has come to light affecting the Windrush Generation this year…
We have a monthly column in the Law Society Messenger. You can see the full December edition here. This month, GMLC volunteer Alex McColl writes about what drives him as an aspiring barrister pursuing a career in social welfare and human rights law. The Greater Manchester Law Centre is a campaign for free access…
A secure home should be a right for everyone! And yet this Winter many people in Greater Manchester are homeless. Legal advice is a vital tool to help people out of homelessness. Many people who are forced to sleep on the streets become homeless because of unresolved legal problems (evictions by rogue landlords, unlawful benefit decisions,…
November 15th 2018 is the 30th anniversary of the 1988 Housing Act becoming law. The Act has faced widespread criticism for undermining private renters’ rights by reducing legal minimum tenancies to six months, allowing landlords to evict tenants without having to give a reason, and removing most restrictions on rent rises. In August 2018, the…
We are pleased to announce that article below features in a two-page spread by Julia Baskerville in this month’s Law Society Messenger, and we will have our own monthly column from December onwards. Greater Manchester Law Centre opened its doors in Moss Side in August 2016 and was officially ‘launched’ in February 2017.…
By Robert Povall. Robert is a Campaign Volunteer with GMLC. He has just commenced the BPTC at the University of Law and is passionate about making a difference. He wants to become a Barrister, specialising in immigration, civil liberties and human rights. Below, Robert reviews the DWP’s error which resulted in over 180,000 disability benefit…
“The Judge did not see any breach of the public sector duty in the balancing of value for money and service provision for disabled people. ‘Value for money’ continues to be used to justify the removal of lifelines for the most vulnerable in society.” GMLC volunteer Josie Hicklin analyses a recent case, highlighting how legislation…
The Home Secretary commissioned a “lessons learned review” into the events leading up to Windrush. See below the response by the Greater Manchester Law Centre. Q1. What, in your view, were the main legislative, policy and operational decisions which led to members of the Windrush generation becoming entangled in measures designed for illegal immigrants? The…
By Brocho 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…