London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Why criminal barristers are striking over legal aid funding

Why criminal barristers are striking over legal aid funding

Those working on cases in England and Wales say they have been left worse off by changes to the system

Criminal barristers in England and Wales have voted overwhelmingly to strike indefinitely from 5 September, the same date the new Conservative leader and prime minister will be announced.

Why are criminal barristers striking?


Barristers working on criminal cases say they have seen deep cuts to their income after government changes to the legal aid system.

Many have quit publicly funded legal aid work, leading to “legal aid deserts”. Barristers who remain say they can no longer survive on the fees and that the criminal justice system is almost at a standstill.

The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) said a government offer of a 15% uplift in fees, which was the minimum increase recommended by the criminal legal aid review, was insufficient and would not apply to the backlog of 58,000 cases in crown courts.

What is legal aid?


Introduced by Clement Attlee’s government in 1949, it is a budget used to pay for legal advice for anyone arrested and charged who does not have the means to pay for it themselves. It is also used to help some claimants fight civil cases.

When were the changes made?


Many criminal barristers have blamed changes introduced under the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government with the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

How has the government responded to the strike threat?


Dominic Raab, the justice secretary, who is on leave until Thursday with his family in Surrey, has not met the CBA since members embarked on industrial action in April, but junior ministers have met the group regularly.

On Monday the justice minister Sarah Dines said the strike would be “irresponsible”.

Who will be affected by the strike?


If hearings or trials cannot take place because there are no barristers to represent defendants, there will not be any trials in which criminals are sent to prison or those who are innocent are acquitted.

Victims, like defendants, will be left in limbo, unsure when they will see justice.

Aren’t lawyers supposed to be well paid?


Lawyers who work in areas such as private corporate law can expect to make £100,000 a year from very early on in their careers.

But criminal barristers are not paid as well as many people assume. The median salary for a criminal barrister in the year 2019-20 was £79,800, according to an independent review conducted by Sir Christopher Bellamy QC.

New criminal barristers can take home as little as £9,000 once costs, including transport, are factored in, while some barristers say the time they spend preparing cases means their hourly earnings are below the minimum wage.

Barristers with zero, one or two years of practice were paid a median of £25,100 before expenses and a net figure of £18,800 after expenses.

Bellamy, a former judge, concluded last December that the criminal justice system needed an extra £135m a year immediately to halt the exodus of younger legal aid barristers, who receive as little as £12,200 per annum.

On 30 June, the government announced an initial increase to criminal legal aid fees, coming into force in September 2022.

What will be the political consequences of the strike?


The first day of the strike, 5 September, is also the day the new prime minister is expected to take office after the resignation of Boris Johnson.

The action follows rail and tube strikes in July and August by members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, Aslef and Unite.

The Communication Workers Union has announced industrial action by post office workers on 26, 27 and 30 August. BT and Openreach workers will stage further strikes in a dispute over pay.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×