There wasn’t a seat left in the house for the Special General Meeting on legal aid at the Law Society this morning. Around 400 angry solicitors descended on Chancery Lane to rail against the Government’s criminal legal aid reform proposals (see story). A fire alarm midway through proceedings only added to the sense of drama as solicitor after solicitor stepped forward to rally the troops.
Time was when local solicitors were characterised along with doctors, vicars and the country squire as the epitome of middle England. If this meeting is anything to go by, then middle England is getting downright rebellious. More strike action is promised as the tussle with the Government promises to get increasingly bitter.
