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Promises, promises…an encore (Pt 4)

08 June 2017 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7749 / Categories: Opinion , Legal services
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Jon Robins returns with some surprising news from UKIP & a justice update from Plaid Cymru & the Lib Dems

Here is a question for a legal pub quiz: which political party promised to repeal the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) in the 2017 general election?

NLJ readers who have followed articles on the manifesto commitments of the main political parties over the last month (see links below) might, through a process of elimination, make an informed guess. The startling answer is UKIP. 
In this the last manifesto review, I look at the election promises of the smaller political parties. We sent out a short questionnaire to the parties asking for their views on the burning issues for lawyers as we approached Thursday’s poll including the personal-injury reforms; the desirability of late-night courts; access to justice and legal aid; and their views on the Human Rights Act.

A singular vision

Last week Paul Nuttall launched his party’s singular vision for the future featuring manifesto commitments to

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
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