Members of parliament have voiced opposition to the government’s proposed legal aid cuts, and warned that the cuts could lead to the closure of many legal advice centres.
Fifty-one MPs responded to a survey conducted by consultancy DG Legal for campaign group Justice for All, including 33 Labour MPs and 18 anonymous respondents understood to be MPs belonging to the coalition parties.
Nine out of ten respondents said they did not agree with the government’s proposal to end almost all public funding for social welfare law and immigration, and 82% said the reforms could lead to the closure of many citizens advice bureaux, law centres and other advice agencies.
Some 88% of MPs expected the reforms to substantially increase their workload.
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Consultant David Gilmore, who carried out the research, said: ‘One cabinet minister told me that he was opposed to the reforms but could not go on the record because of collective responsibility.
‘I was also told that a senior Conservative backbencher had been actively campaigning against the proposals behind the scenes.’
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