The GMLC grew out of a protest against cuts to services offering free legal advice and representation. In recent years the right to legal aid has been subject to permanent assault by successive governments. As a result people have been left without advice and support when they need it most, putting them at the risk of poverty, homelessness and unemployment. On this page you can find out all the latest news from the struggle to restore legal aid.
We will not allow legal aid cuts to be the death of the social welfare lawyer. We fight for the restoration of legal aid, and we are a home for aspiring lawyers who are committed to access to justice. We seek to inspire and encourage the next generation of lawyers to pursue social welfare law,…
GMLC volunteer Alex Feery puts legal aid cuts in context, by challenging the presumptions and attitudes framing debates on access to justice. The Government’s operating assumption behind legal aid policy has been for some time that the public is too eager to resort to the courts. It has denounced ‘unnecessary adversarial litigation’.[1] Individuals with…
Earlier this year, our volunteers reviewed the Legal Aid statistics published by Ministry of Justice and Legal Aid Agency, which indicate that the number of solicitor firms providing civil Legal Aid in the North West have fallen by roughly 34.2% from 2011-2012 to 2017-2018, expenditure for not for profits providing Legal Aid has fallen by roughly…
On Thursday, 11th April, we launched our manifesto at a public event. The event was packed. 150 people were in attendance: students, advisers, lawyers and community groups, old and new friends. The full manifesto can now be downloaded here. Norma Turner, one of GMLC’s founders, chaired the event and speakers included GMLC Patron and human rights lawyer Robert…
We have a monthly column in the Law Society Messenger. This month, we were delighted to be asked to produce the cover story on the important topic of the LASPO review. See the full issue here. Early 2018 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced the post-implementation review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of…
We have a monthly column in the Law Society Messenger. You can see the full February edition here. This month, GMLC volunteer Lily Lewis gives her perspective of the impact of Legal Aid on her work. Lily Lewis is a volunteer with Greater Manchester Law Centre’s Legal Advocacy Support Project. She is currently studying…
With: Richard Burgon MP, Shadow Justice Secretary and GMLC Patrons Maxine Peake and Robert Lizar Join us for the Greater Manchester Law Centre manifesto launch 11th April 2019, 6-8pm, Thompsons Solicitors, 55 King Street, Manchester, M2 4LQ Access to legal advice, representation and justice can empower people, reduce homelessness and poverty, challenge the hostile environment against…
The Greater Manchester Law Centre (GMLC) has called for “urgent action” following national and local news coverage of the ‘decimation’ of Legal Aid[1], and has reviewed the impact on Greater Manchester specifically. Volunteers at GMLC reviewed the Legal Aid statistics published by Ministry of Justice and Legal Aid Agency, which indicate that the number of…
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…
This article by our chair, John Nicholson, was featured in Counsel Magazine, the monthly journal of the Bar of England and Wales. Extraordinary Working Lives: John Nicholson Free-access-to-justice campaigner John Nicholson recounts a day in the life as a legal aid lawyer operating in the hostile environment Waking in the early hours. Anxious…