Two MPs have already planned visits
A group of junior solicitors have teamed up with a refugee charity to launch a ‘Take Your MP to Work’ campaign in a bid to bring the realities of legal aid to the political arena.
The initiative aims to bring both MPs and prospective MPs to the places of work of legal aid lawyers and “bring to life the urgent need for legal aid reform”.
It is being run by the Young Legal Aid Lawyers group in conjunction with Migrants Organise, a charity advocating for the rights and welfare of migrants and refugees.
Kicking off the visits are MPs Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Andy Slaughter who will be heading to organisations in their respective constituencies.
A previous campaign in 2019 saw 50 MPs visit legal advice organisations across the country.
Legal aid lawyers, frontline support workers, and advise charities across the country are being encouraged to take part in the new programme. User-friendly guides, template emails, and toolkits have all been created for prospective participants in order to streamline the process of getting in touch with local MPs.
Commenting on the scheme, Isaac Abraham, co-Chair of Young Legal Aid Lawyers said:
“We refuse to let the urgency of legal aid reform be swept under the rug. We know that access to legal aid plays an indispensable role in protecting our fundamental rights, but that it is increasingly becoming impossible to access. We want to bring MPs and prospective MPs face-to-face with the realities of legal aid work and the tireless efforts of legal aid workers, to drive home the urgent need for reform.”
Brian Dikoff, legal officer at Migrants Organise added: “At Migrants Organise we see daily the impact of not having access to justice in this country: individuals trapped in the hostile environment for years because they cannot get their immigration status, families and children being unlawfully denied social services support, individuals who need life saving treatment being wrongly charged thousands of pounds, and many others. We need to come together and fight for everyone’s right to access justice.”
