I have long believed that going to court should not be a thing that costs money. Justice, should we need to avail ourselves of it, should be a public service, like police, education, or healthcare.

I first started thinking about the cost of going to court when a business owner I knew abandoned money that was owed to them because they knew that, should they pursue it, they would need to pay the court, the court again when payment was still not made, and then the bailiffs. Finally they would have to hope that the bailiffs could find property sufficient to pay their fees, the court fees, and the debt. If they didn’t, the victim of the crime of failure-to-pay, would have to pay all those costs.

To say that more simply, with the current system in Britain and America, if you need to go to court, you need to pay for your representation and for the court’s time, even if you’re alleging you’re the victim, and even if you win.

Recently, the media has been attacked by vexatious lawsuits that have no merit. In a world where court costs money, there is a point at which, rather than fighting the lawsuits and hoping you can reclaim the costs, you acquiesce to the demands of the person bringing the lawsuits.

As part of our campaign against the current stagger towards autocracy, let’s also demand free courts – free in the same way as police are free. Let’s have a court system available to all, as well as social workers, and others who can ensure we live our lives as we might wish.

Love your neighbour and do unto others as you would wish them do to you would guide us to that world.