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Chesterfield's Political Leaders Are 'Gagged' In Town Centre

Monday 13th June 2011

As part of the protest into proposed cuts to Legal Aid campaigners 'gagged' MP's, local council leaders and solicitors to show how ordinary people in our town will be affected should the proposals go ahead.

Chesterfield's Political Leaders are gagged in town centre
Solicitor mary Honeyben 'gags' (l to r) Chesterfield Borough Council Leader John Burrows, NEDDC Leader Graeme Baxter, Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins and Campaigner Colin Hampton

Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins, Chesterfield Borough Council Leader, John Burrows along with Graeme Baxter MBE, Leader of North East Derbyshire County Council
took part to show their support for the cause and spent time addressing the concerns of people walking past the stall on Chesterfield Market.

Mary Honeyben
is a solicitor in the town and she says that the cuts will mean that people in Chesterfield suffer terribly, "We're very concerned. My Practice has been in Chesterfield for 100 years and we have always done lots of legal aid, and have a strong family law department.

"If these cuts go ahead a great number of people who get legal advice for family stuff won’t get it. Children's residency, cohabitation, property disputes for instance will all go out of scope. More people are living together now, and frequently the property may be in one person's name - if they split up, what will happen?"

She went on to say that the focus of separation has now changed, with couples encouraged to go down a less combatative route, "Solicitors are trained to mediate - going to court is the last option. The mediation will not be covered so the courts will be busier with more people going there unrepresented. District judges are anti legal aid cuts - they prefer people to have had legal advice."

The coming changes will affect not only the poorest but also, Mary believes, be dangerously unfair, "These plans would disproportionately affect women - it tends to be that women have the low paid jobs to fit in with childcare. So, come a separation, the man may be working and able to afford legal advice but, where now the woman would get legal aid, she may not in future. That could lead to her getting bullied into settling for something that she shouldn't."



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