Post by nickd on Jan 13, 2011 23:17:08 GMT 1
This is my account of the Justice for All campaign launch event at Westminster, 12th January 2011
The day to take our campaign from South Devon to London arrived, we went in force, armed with evidence, with MP’s lined up to Lobby; none of us knowing what to expect. We decided on a ‘three pronged attack’, the bureau manager, contract caseworker/supervisor and an advice session supervisor; this would allow us to provide an opportunity to express our concerns from different perspectives as to how the Legal Aid reforms would hit the whole bureau. It meant an early start but the long train journey gave us plenty of time to talk about our approach, tactics and also catch up on many of the things you don’t get the chance to when working in a busy bureau.
Before long we pulled in to Paddington and made our exodus onto the hustle and bustle of the busy concourse, after a quick snack we were soon bound for Westminster. As we came up the steps from the underground, we all looked in awe at the imposing sight of Big Ben towering above the huge historic palace; the place where our futures are debated, where policies are drawn up and laws introduced.
As we made our way towards our meeting point, a poignant sight struck me; he was a solitary individual standing a few hundred metres from the main entrance where armed Policemen rigidly guard the palace. No one was taking any notice of him, he clearly had fairly significant mental health problems, people just brushed past him, he was doing no-one any harm; a few people starred and rudely sniggered at the man. Safely outside the palace’s curtailing boundary walls, he repeatedly shouted some incoherent words as he pointed towards the building, he conveyed words clearly directed towards those safely cocooned in the safety of this magnificent historic building; sadly, no-one was listening. It left me with an impression which reminded me of the very reason why we’d travelled all the way to London, to help the vulnerable have a voice against social injustice.
And so we made our way to the Justice for All rendezvous in the Jubilee Room. At first we were a little worried, we were early, teas and coffee were being prepared but no-one else appeared to be joining us. We wondered if we’d come all this way to join just a few people in a hopeless battle against the huge political machine. A steady trickle of people started to arrive; a trickle grew into a busy queue; the queue grew longer and it was clear that not everyone was going to fit in to the now packed assembly room. It was nice to network and good to meet the Justice for All campaign leaders, our Fearless Leader and people from other organisations. Our time to chat and network was cut short as we had to go off and Lobby four different MP’s, each one representing parts of the districts served by and on the fringe of those served by our CAB/Shelter consortium in South Devon.
Led by a security official, we were taken through a passageway into the very modern building ‘Portcullis House’. This apparently was where we would be ‘lobbying’. We’d yet to find out just what hard work lobbying was, make no mistake it’s pretty exhausting! You’re ushered from one lobby to the next by the MP’s assistant; they are very helpful and take you to greet your MP. We saw three Conservatives and one Liberal Democrat. Our own district MP was, as always, very prepared to listen. We’d prepared a 30 page presentation giving information about the history of our contract, some examples of the specialist work we do, a breakdown of our costs and why we believe Legal Aid represents good value for money. We provided details of insolvency figures in each constituency area, as well as those relating to benefit spending. We highlighted our districts problems, despite its affluent profile. We also provided details of our ideas of alternatives to the Legal Aid cuts; and we summarised our case. Each MP expressed thanks for coming prepared. In my view it was a worthwhile exercise because it had enabled us to focus on the points we needed to raise. It was definitely worth doing the homework because each MP was challenging and asked different questions. One expressed a view that CAB was not best suited to Legal Aid and took a view that it never had been, the view came over that Solicitors are Legal Aid; criticism was made of long CAB waiting lists and poor advice being given. One MP expressed a view that debt advice could be given by Insolvency Practitioners, three MP’s were very praiseworthy of CAB’s; one was resolute that cuts had to be made. Our manager gave the introduction, I outlined our case and tried hard to push the point that we are specialists, our general advice session supervisor pointed out the difficulties which would exist without our specialist tier. It was clear to me that whilst MP’s are fixed in the views, they are prepared to listen. Two were ex lawyers and it was therefore important to present argument, lawyers like an argument and MP’s need convincing, lobbying is not just having a friendly chat with an MP, it is all about stating the case.
It’s difficult to get the timing right, the first one ran a little over time so I reminded my colleagues to kick me under the table, just a gentle kick mind you; my colleagues Emma and Sharon had those lethal pointed shoes and I’m sure they could have done a lot of damage; I was therefore going to make sure from then on we ran on time, I wasn’t going home with bruised lower limbs for anyone! It seemed to get easier each time, we didn’t come away thinking we’d left anything out, but the questions asked by MP’s were definitely intended to make sure you could give answers. Each MP gave us a different view; they all expressed a belief that welfare benefit advice was not the basic mechanical advice some think it is. We invited each MP to come to see us at our bureau and spend time with us to see first hand the work we do.
Each MP gave us their time, the last one gave us considerably more, our last Lobby lasted well over the allotted time, it being cut short by a loud electronic bell repeatedly sounding, at first I thought it must be a fire alarm, but then it became obvious. The room which had been full of MP’s sitting at separate tables in the lobbying hall, including the Miliband brothers and Jack Straw had emptied, they’d all gone to vote, you’ve never seen MP’s move so fast! This is obviously the pace of reform.
We returned to the campaign area; unfortunately it was just packing up, we fed back to Justice for All. We would like to thank them for organising the day. We left the awe inspiring sight of Westminster now lit up by the bright lights of London. The solitary and vulnerable man standing outside had given up and gone home, he looked like his home may well have been in a subway.
We retired to a steak house near Paddington where we eat; we were hungry and thirsty, we raised a glass to the start of the campaign, we’ve still got a lot more battling to do to win a future for specialist help provision but we’ve made a good start, we felt we’d done our bit, this is no easy battle but between us we can put up a mighty case. To those who didn’t go, join the campaign, everyone needs to be on board, collectively we can contest this.
Oh and by the way Mr Clarke, we travelled second class and got the late train because it was that much cheaper, we got back in the small hours and were all back at our desks first thing, we’re a committed lot Mr Clarke if only you’d realise our commitment is also matched with a great deal of specialist knowledge.
We are following up by thanking each MP for their time and summarising our next step. We’re on a mission just the same as our Government; these reforms can and must be opposed.
You can see the Justice for All site, here:
www.justice-for-all.org.uk/
The day to take our campaign from South Devon to London arrived, we went in force, armed with evidence, with MP’s lined up to Lobby; none of us knowing what to expect. We decided on a ‘three pronged attack’, the bureau manager, contract caseworker/supervisor and an advice session supervisor; this would allow us to provide an opportunity to express our concerns from different perspectives as to how the Legal Aid reforms would hit the whole bureau. It meant an early start but the long train journey gave us plenty of time to talk about our approach, tactics and also catch up on many of the things you don’t get the chance to when working in a busy bureau.
Before long we pulled in to Paddington and made our exodus onto the hustle and bustle of the busy concourse, after a quick snack we were soon bound for Westminster. As we came up the steps from the underground, we all looked in awe at the imposing sight of Big Ben towering above the huge historic palace; the place where our futures are debated, where policies are drawn up and laws introduced.
As we made our way towards our meeting point, a poignant sight struck me; he was a solitary individual standing a few hundred metres from the main entrance where armed Policemen rigidly guard the palace. No one was taking any notice of him, he clearly had fairly significant mental health problems, people just brushed past him, he was doing no-one any harm; a few people starred and rudely sniggered at the man. Safely outside the palace’s curtailing boundary walls, he repeatedly shouted some incoherent words as he pointed towards the building, he conveyed words clearly directed towards those safely cocooned in the safety of this magnificent historic building; sadly, no-one was listening. It left me with an impression which reminded me of the very reason why we’d travelled all the way to London, to help the vulnerable have a voice against social injustice.
And so we made our way to the Justice for All rendezvous in the Jubilee Room. At first we were a little worried, we were early, teas and coffee were being prepared but no-one else appeared to be joining us. We wondered if we’d come all this way to join just a few people in a hopeless battle against the huge political machine. A steady trickle of people started to arrive; a trickle grew into a busy queue; the queue grew longer and it was clear that not everyone was going to fit in to the now packed assembly room. It was nice to network and good to meet the Justice for All campaign leaders, our Fearless Leader and people from other organisations. Our time to chat and network was cut short as we had to go off and Lobby four different MP’s, each one representing parts of the districts served by and on the fringe of those served by our CAB/Shelter consortium in South Devon.
Led by a security official, we were taken through a passageway into the very modern building ‘Portcullis House’. This apparently was where we would be ‘lobbying’. We’d yet to find out just what hard work lobbying was, make no mistake it’s pretty exhausting! You’re ushered from one lobby to the next by the MP’s assistant; they are very helpful and take you to greet your MP. We saw three Conservatives and one Liberal Democrat. Our own district MP was, as always, very prepared to listen. We’d prepared a 30 page presentation giving information about the history of our contract, some examples of the specialist work we do, a breakdown of our costs and why we believe Legal Aid represents good value for money. We provided details of insolvency figures in each constituency area, as well as those relating to benefit spending. We highlighted our districts problems, despite its affluent profile. We also provided details of our ideas of alternatives to the Legal Aid cuts; and we summarised our case. Each MP expressed thanks for coming prepared. In my view it was a worthwhile exercise because it had enabled us to focus on the points we needed to raise. It was definitely worth doing the homework because each MP was challenging and asked different questions. One expressed a view that CAB was not best suited to Legal Aid and took a view that it never had been, the view came over that Solicitors are Legal Aid; criticism was made of long CAB waiting lists and poor advice being given. One MP expressed a view that debt advice could be given by Insolvency Practitioners, three MP’s were very praiseworthy of CAB’s; one was resolute that cuts had to be made. Our manager gave the introduction, I outlined our case and tried hard to push the point that we are specialists, our general advice session supervisor pointed out the difficulties which would exist without our specialist tier. It was clear to me that whilst MP’s are fixed in the views, they are prepared to listen. Two were ex lawyers and it was therefore important to present argument, lawyers like an argument and MP’s need convincing, lobbying is not just having a friendly chat with an MP, it is all about stating the case.
It’s difficult to get the timing right, the first one ran a little over time so I reminded my colleagues to kick me under the table, just a gentle kick mind you; my colleagues Emma and Sharon had those lethal pointed shoes and I’m sure they could have done a lot of damage; I was therefore going to make sure from then on we ran on time, I wasn’t going home with bruised lower limbs for anyone! It seemed to get easier each time, we didn’t come away thinking we’d left anything out, but the questions asked by MP’s were definitely intended to make sure you could give answers. Each MP gave us a different view; they all expressed a belief that welfare benefit advice was not the basic mechanical advice some think it is. We invited each MP to come to see us at our bureau and spend time with us to see first hand the work we do.
Each MP gave us their time, the last one gave us considerably more, our last Lobby lasted well over the allotted time, it being cut short by a loud electronic bell repeatedly sounding, at first I thought it must be a fire alarm, but then it became obvious. The room which had been full of MP’s sitting at separate tables in the lobbying hall, including the Miliband brothers and Jack Straw had emptied, they’d all gone to vote, you’ve never seen MP’s move so fast! This is obviously the pace of reform.
We returned to the campaign area; unfortunately it was just packing up, we fed back to Justice for All. We would like to thank them for organising the day. We left the awe inspiring sight of Westminster now lit up by the bright lights of London. The solitary and vulnerable man standing outside had given up and gone home, he looked like his home may well have been in a subway.
We retired to a steak house near Paddington where we eat; we were hungry and thirsty, we raised a glass to the start of the campaign, we’ve still got a lot more battling to do to win a future for specialist help provision but we’ve made a good start, we felt we’d done our bit, this is no easy battle but between us we can put up a mighty case. To those who didn’t go, join the campaign, everyone needs to be on board, collectively we can contest this.
Oh and by the way Mr Clarke, we travelled second class and got the late train because it was that much cheaper, we got back in the small hours and were all back at our desks first thing, we’re a committed lot Mr Clarke if only you’d realise our commitment is also matched with a great deal of specialist knowledge.
We are following up by thanking each MP for their time and summarising our next step. We’re on a mission just the same as our Government; these reforms can and must be opposed.
You can see the Justice for All site, here:
www.justice-for-all.org.uk/