Agents and Agency in the Face of Austerity and Brexit Uncertainty: The Case of Legal Aid

Abstract

In austerity Britain, the contested policies that cut legal aid funding and court system financing threaten justice and the rule of law, the very core of the British judicial system, which is admired and respected worldwide. Thus, it is necessary to identify and to analyse critically policies that affect law and justice, the impacts of such policies and resistance to them. This chapter explores changes to legal aid and justice financing as well as reversals, government justifications for changes and the response of the judiciary and lawyers as a basis for its reflective narrative on the state of the judicial system. As a case study of the wider debate on austerity-through-policy in Britain, the chapter reviews recent legal aid reform and so-called ‘discount justice’ in England and Wales. Particular focus is given to the impact, or likely impact, austerity policies have on the availability of legal aid for criminal cases, and the uncertain future of public spending on justice.