Coming in late to say: full solidarity with the barristers on strike today. Firstly, workers have the right to defend themselves using industrial action when negotiation fails. But this is about much more than that.
Successive Tory governments cut legal aid to the bone and then brought out the saw. Junior barristers are on less than minimum wage. Barristers are leaving the profession in droves because they cannot afford to remain.
This is a problem for all of us. Access to legal aid, means access to justice for those who can't afford expensive private council. In its absence miscarriages of justice become more common and harder to correct.
Since 2010 Tory governments have targeted cuts at the justice system because they know it won't attract the public sympathy that (rightly) follows attacks on other parts of the public sector. But now the system is on the verge of collapse.
A functioning legal system, that supports people to defend themselves regardless of their resources is a key strand of a functioning democracy, and barristers are striking today to try and preserve that. #Action4Justice #Solidarity
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
