The attack on Douglas Carswell was wrong, but that doesn’t make him right | Owen Jones

The logic of Ukip's only MP when he dismisses anti-austerity protests is that the whole population must submit to an 'elected dictatorship'

Confession time: I like Douglas Carswell. Sure, I abhor everything Ukip stand for: they're a millionaire-funded party advocating privatisation and tax cuts for a thriving wealthy elite, encouraging struggling Britons to direct their fire at immigrants rather than financiers, poverty-paying employers or tax avoiders. But Carswell is a charming and thoughtful bloke more interested in technology-based libertarianism than kneejerk rightwing populism.

The son of a doctor who helped pioneer the treatment of HIV, he was clearly upset at Nigel Farage's contemptible pre-election attempt to tap into resentment of foreign-born HIV-positive patients. His libertarianism, if implemented, would be nothing short of a social and economic disaster; but his critique of crony capitalism - of the fusion between corporate interests and the state - is one many on the left could easily identify with.

Related: Ukip MP Douglas Carswell surrounded by anti-austerity protesters in London