Book excerpt: One of the many areas of social support affected by the recent austerity measures in Britain is legal aid, which has suffered under cuts so substantial that, this book argues, the result is the most radical set of changes in the sixty-year history of legal aid in the nation, a transformation of its very meaning and purpose. From an original position as a form of social welfare to which nearly anyone could get access, it is now seen as a benefit, outside the legal system, and almost wholly cast in economic terms. This book looks at this shift and its far-reaching consequences not just for individuals but for the whole of the court system.