Oppose Fracking: Support Community Resistance

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The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers fully supports the inspiring community resistance to fracking and extreme energy projects in the UK. As set out on the Defending Human Right Defenders website, people have the right to a healthy environment, to breathe clean air and to defend the planet from capitalist exploitation.

The government has made it clear that it has no interest in meeting the goals set out in the Climate Change Act 2008 to avoid catastrophic climate change, and has implemented a series of measures to enable fossil fuel companies to impose extreme extractive projects on unwilling communities. The most audacious of these measures include making ‘maximising economic recovery’ of oil and gas a legal obligation, and changing trespass law to allow fracking companies to drill below people’s homes without permission, as set out in the Infrastructure Act 2015.

To defend the land and their health, communities now have no choice but to take direct action to block extreme energy. An action camp is being planned by Reclaim the Power at Didcot Power Station at the end of May. Didcot still runs a gas fired plant and may use fracked gas in future. As socialists we support this social movement.

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers calls on Lancashire County Council to listen to the people of Lancashire and public health doctors  - and reject fracking company Cuadrilla’s pending application to frack in Preston New Road and Roseacre Wood. 

In the Wake of the JR Result, a Message to the Profession...

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...Join, or Die

Our profession may not survive the government's latest assault on legal aid.  We must fight together in one united campaign to prevent Grayling's destruction of the rule of law.

Download the Join or Die leaflet.

Visit out Legal Aid Resource Centre to download the latest leaflets and posters in the campaign, or contact the Secretaries of the Society for hard copies.

Free Public Lecture: 24 March 2015

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Download the poster (pdf).

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers in association with the Mansfield Student Law Society at London Metropolitan University invite you to a free public lecture on 24 March 2015: Child Sex Abuse Inquiry: a road to justice? At 6.30pm, School of Law, London Metropolitan University, 16 Goulston Street, London, E1 7TP.

Speakers:

Phil Frampton (Chair, Care Leavers Association 2000-2003);

Alison Millar (Solicitor, Leigh Day);

Liz Woodcraft (Barrister)

Petition to Defend Phil Shiner

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The Haldane Society is angered and alarmed by the treatment by politicians and journalists of our vice president, Professor Phil Shiner of Public Interest Lawyers.

Professor Shiner has been receiving death threats and abuse as a result of his Iraq work since 2004. However, the threats and abuse increased in May and December 2014 following hostile press coverage. This negative portrayal has been intensified by ministerial statements.

These attacks are particularly significant at a time when the government wants to denounce the Human Rights Act.  We condemn all threats to human rights lawyers. Please show your support to our vice president and to human rights litigation by signing the petition:

https://www.change.org/p/david-cameron-stop-intimidating-and-shaming-lawyers

A letter mirroring the petition has been signed by a number of high profile members of the Society and can be viewed here.