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No one should delude themselves into thinking Labour offers anything to lawyers or the public who use their services. I will explain why|:-
I attended a fringe meeting of a Labour Party conference in around 2005 just before the election that year which saw the return of the Labour Government. The subject of the meeting was 'Legal Aid' which had for some time been subject to regular manipulation and financial cuts under a Labour Government and by the previous Conservative Government up to 1997. I, along with other lawyers, judges CAB representatives and others, attended the meeting in the hope of learning what plans there were for legally aided services and therefore what the future held for that section of our profession that offered those services. The meeting was conducted by David Lock MP who was then no. 2 in the (then), Lord Chancellor's Dept. I suspect Mr Lock was unaware of the composition of his audience. He stood and addressed his audience with a cynical grin on his face and said
" Well of course, all labour MPs hate lawyers.". It was clear also from his general comments that the legal profession was an institution that was under attack and this was somewhat 'personal'. Mr Lock clearly did not appreciate that those who practise in the area of legal aid were not 'fat cats' and in reality provided a valuable and vital service in a democratic society. Needless to say, I was dismayed and with hindsight wish I had responded to such ignorance.
I concluded, as a result, that there was no future for the legal aid system as we knew it; the writing was very much on the wall. Shortly after this, my Firm, after 25 years, decided to withdraw from the provision of legal aid services.
The message is this: Labour offers nothing of comparative benefit to the profession or to the British public in the provision of legal services. Remember that further destruction of the system by prefaced by the words 'Access to Justice' to ensure the deception of the public as to what was really the underlying purpose of yet further reductions to the service..The only way to effect change is to withdraw services .This strategy would require full support from the profession. I recognise, as does a government of whatever complexion that professional survival is on the line for so many providers. There will be further reductions in remuneration before we reach the absolute bottom and the public starts to realise that we are not 'fat cats' after all.
Because of the vast deficit in the public finances savings have to be made. This should not however be at the expense of JUSTICE itself which is fundamental to our democracy. Sadly, governments waste so much money. Why could we afford as a country to provide legal aid services in the past ( during my life in practice) but not now? The answer is that there is no political will from either of the main parties.