Douglas Carswell
member of Parliament; author, The End of Politics and the Birth of iDemocracy
Douglas is an optimist. He believes that the world is getting better and that we need change. He favours free markets, small government and individual freedom, and would like to see far reaching political reform - consistently advocating measures to make politicians more directly accountable to those they are supposed to represent.
His book, The End of Politics and the Birth of iDemocracy, outlined how this could be achieved. Douglas has been elected to Parliament on four occasions, twice as a Conservative, and twice for UKIP. Frustrated by the failure of the Conservative administration to embrace far reaching political reform, in 2014 Douglas chose to resign his seat, and fight a by-election for UKIP. He went on to win “the largest increase in the vote achieved by any party” in any by-election in British political history.
Douglas had a proper job in business before politics, working in commercial television and then fund management. Born in 1971, Douglas’ home was in Uganda until his late teens. He retains a close interest in a country he once called home. He read history at the University of East Anglia and King’s College, London.
Follow Douglas on Twitter: @douglascarswell
RELATED SESSIONS
Saturday 22 October, 14.00 Garden Room
Are political parties over?