Barristers have overwhelmingly voted for an indefinite strike as the row with government over legal aid threatens to cripple the criminal justice system.
The legal profession is at loggerheads with ministers over public funding for criminal justice, arguing the government is not acting swiftly or doing enough to fix their ailing industry.
Criminal barristers began industrial action in April and commenced a programme of walkouts from June, disrupting an estimated 6,000 crown court hearings and trials across England and Wales so far.
On Monday morning, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) revealed that almost 80 per cent of members had backed an indefinite strike from September 5. In the latest ballot, 11 per cent supported a continuation of the existing programme of timed strike days, while just nine per cent backed an end to industrial action.
CBA vice chairwoman Kirsty Brimelow QC said this was “last-resort action” over a demand for less money than it costs the Government for the courts to sit empty.
She told BBC Breakfast: “The effect (of the strike) will be that the courts continue to sit empty with trials and cases not being heard. It is a last-resort action.
“The remedy is for an injection of money into the backlog of cases which currently stands at 60,000 cases, that barristers are working on that will cost the Government only £1.1 million per month.
“Currently, it’s costing much more for the courts to sit empty.”
The walkouts mean serious criminal cases – including allegations of rape, murder, and robbery – cannot go ahead if any of the barristers are on legal aid funding and taking part in the strike.
CBA leaders said 2,273 of its members took part in the latest ballot, in the highest turnout so far, which “speaks volumes about the strength of feeling amongst colleagues across all six Circuits.
“We take great pride in the fact that our members have so consistently demonstrated such a deep commitment to the democratic process. It reflects an unshakeable underlying belief in the power of collective action and a demand to be heard.”
With next week already scheduled to be a week of strikes, the ballot results means the criminal justice system will likely have ground to a halt when the new prime minister takes office in early September.
Current Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, who has devoted large amounts of his time to supporting Rishi Sunak’s leadership bid, has so far resisted the CBA’s calls for action to end the strike.
If replaced at the Ministry of Justice, his successor will face the challenge of fixing an unprecedented revolt by the legal profession, victims, witnesses, and defendants facing years of delay, and a backlog of cases spiralling out of control.
The backlog was allowed to grow before the pandemic thanks to funding cuts, and has ballooned to almost 60,000 cases as a result of the pandemic.
An independent review of Legal Aid funding concluded last year that an increase of at least 15 per cent on Legal Aid fees was needed, and should be implemented as soon as possible.
A 15 per cent fee increase is due to come into effect from the government at the end of September, but crucially will not apply to cases which are already in the criminal justice backlog – and are covered by the existing fee scheme.
The CBA, which is pushing for a 25 per cent fee increase to make up for years of underfunding, says the refusal to increase fees on backlog cases means barristers will not feel the benefits of the pay rise for a long time, and does not meet the independent review’s call for urgent action.
Justice Minister Sarah Dines responded to today’s ballot result by saying: “This is an irresponsible decision that will only see more victims face further delays and distress.
“The escalation of strike action is wholly unjustified considering we are increasing criminal barristers’ fees by 15 per cent, which will see the typical barrister earn around £7,000 more a year.”
The government’s stance so far has been that applying increased fees to the backlog cases would need fundamental reform and cost a “disproportionate amount of taxpayers’ money”.
The standoff with barristers is just one of a series of industrial disputes the government is facing, including striking rail workers and nurses and teachers being balloted over possible action.
Dock workers in Felixstowe have voted to walk out for the first time in 30 years, while London bus drivers joined the wave of strikes this weekend.
