douglasgresham.co.uk

I always find it difficult to explain my political position.  This is probably because I try to practice evidence-based opinion forming, whereas those in Westminster – and I include every politician and mainstream hack in this – form policy based on ideology, popular appeal and headline-grabbing catchiness.  I also find the traditional definitions of Left vs Right far too simplistic.  In an attempt to actually explain my positions on the issues that matter most to me, I’m going to be writing a series of posts under the heading of When I Come To Power – think of it as the manifesto for The Doug Party, although clearly I’d never be put in charge in a democracy – they’re far too sensible to let me anywhere near anything resembling power.

I’ll keep a full list of posts here, along with a summary of the changes I’d make.

Libel Reform

• Overhaul Conditional Fee Agreements and make them contingent on the award
• Introduce stronger measures of redress for a successful defence
• Abolish the multiple publication rule
• Remove liability from service providers
• Move burden of proof onto the claimant rather than the plaintiff
• Require demonstration of actual damages
• Expand ‘public benefit’ defence
• Expand ‘fair comment’ defence