Owen Jones

Last updated

Owen Jones
Owen Jones 2021.png
Jones in 2021
Born
Owen Peter Jones

(1984-08-08) 8 August 1984 (age 39)
Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
Education University College, Oxford (BA, MSt)
Occupations
  • Columnist
  • author
Political party Labour Party (1999–2024)
Parent
Writing career
Subjects
Notable works

Owen Peter Jones (born 1984) [2] is a British newspaper columnist, commentator, journalist, author and political activist.

Contents

He writes a column for The Guardian and contributes to the New Statesman , Tribune , and The National [3] and was previously a columnist for The Independent .

He has two weekly web series, The Owen Jones Show and The Owen Jones Podcast.

Early life and education

Jones was born in Sheffield and raised in Stockport, where he attended Bramhall High School and Ridge Danyers Sixth Form College. [4] He read History at University College, Oxford and graduated in 2005. [5]

Before entering journalism, he worked as a trade union lobbyist and a parliamentary researcher for the Labour Party MP John McDonnell. [6] [7] At one point he was also hired by the historian Eric Hobsbawm to index and archive his papers. [8]

Writings and public career

Columnist, broadcaster and writer

Jones is a weekly columnist for The Guardian [9] after switching from The Independent in March 2014. His work has appeared in the New Statesman , the Sunday Mirror , Le Monde diplomatique and several publications with lower circulations. He writes from a left-wing perspective. [10] [11]

In 2011, Jones published his first book, Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class , dissecting cultural stereotypes of the British working-class as boorish and anti-social "chavs". The book was selected by critic Dwight Garner of The New York Times as one of his top 10 non-fiction books of 2011, and reviewed by MP Jon Cruddas. [12] [13] In November 2012, Jones was awarded Journalist of the Year at the Stonewall Awards, along with The Times journalist Hugo Rifkind. [14] Jones' second book, The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It , was published in September 2014. [15]

In February 2013, when Jones was awarded the Young Writer of the Year prize at the Political Book Award, he donated half the £3,000 prize money to support the campaign of Lisa Forbes, a Labour parliamentary candidate, and the other half to Disabled People Against Cuts. [16]

Jones in 2016 Owen Jones, 2016 Labour Party Conference.jpg
Jones in 2016

In November 2013, he delivered the Royal Television Society's Huw Wheldon Memorial Lecture, Totally Shameless: How TV Portrays the Working Class. [17]

On 24 September 2020, Jones published This Land: The Struggle for the Left. [18] Jones was interviewed by Huck about the book. [19] The book received a negative review from British trade unionist Len McCluskey, [20] and was praised by Melissa Benn in the New Statesman : "Owen Jones has managed to produce a whodunnit political page-turner and a surprisingly fair account (given that Jones was a player in the Corbyn circles)". [21]

Political activism

Jones spoke at a press conference to launch the People's Assembly Against Austerity on 26 March 2013, and regional public meetings in the lead-up to a national meeting at Central Hall Westminster on 22 June 2013. [22]

In 2015, Jones was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of the University (DUniv) by Staffordshire University in recognition of his campaigning on social inequality. [23] Jones supports abolishing the monarchy of the United Kingdom. [24] He has spoken out about transphobia and LGBTQ rights. [25] [26] In 2019, Jones and some friends were attacked outside a London pub in a homophobic attack. [27] [28] [29] All the perpetrators were convicted. [30]

Jones is a former member of the Labour Party, having held membership of the party since the age of 15 and cancelling his membership in March 2024. [31] In his reasoning for leaving the party, Jones stated that it had become "a hostile environment" for those that support the policies that party leader, Keir Starmer won his leadership on, which Starmer has since rejected, such as scrapping university tuition fees and support of public ownership. [32] Jones also criticised the Labour Party's rejection of a cap on bankers' bonuses and its opposition to a wealth tax, among other issues. [32]

Books

Related Research Articles

<i>New Statesman</i> British political and cultural magazine

The New Statesman is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members of the socialist Fabian Society, such as George Bernard Shaw, who was a founding director. The magazine was founded as a weekly review of politics and literature. The longest-serving editor was Kingsley Martin (1930–1960), and the current editor is Jason Cowley, who assumed the post in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hitchens</span> English journalist and author (born 1951)

Peter Jonathan Hitchens is an English conservative author, broadcaster, journalist, and commentator. He writes for The Mail on Sunday and was a foreign correspondent reporting from both Moscow and Washington, D.C. Peter Hitchens has contributed to The Spectator, The American Conservative, The Guardian, First Things, Prospect, and the New Statesman. His books include The Abolition of Britain, The Rage Against God, The War We Never Fought and The Phoney Victory.

"Chav", also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. The use of the word has been described as a form of "social racism". "Chavette" is a related term referring to female chavs, and the adjectives "chavvy", "chavvish", and "chavtastic" are used to describe things associated with chavs, such as fashion, slang, etc. In other countries like Ireland, "skanger" is used in a similar manner. In Ontario, the term is "hoodman", an equivalent of the term "roadman" used in England. In Newfoundland, "skeet" is used in a similar way, while in Australia, "eshay" or "adlay" is used.

<i>Eden Lake</i> 2008 British film

Eden Lake is a 2008 British horror film written and directed by James Watkins in his directorial debut. The film stars Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Jack O'Connell, James Gandhi, Thomas Turgoose, Bronson Webb, Shaun Dooley, and Finn Atkins. Its plot follows a young couple spending their honeymoon at a remote lake, only to be confronted and hunted by a group of hostile youths.

Chavs may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Webb</span> English comedian, presenter, actor and writer (born 1972)

Robert Patrick Webb is an English comedian, actor and writer. He rose to prominence alongside David Mitchell as the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb.

The British left can refer to multiple concepts. It is sometimes used as shorthand for groups aligned with the Labour Party. It can also refer to other individuals, groups and political parties that have sought egalitarian changes in the economic, political, and cultural institutions of the United Kingdom. There are various subgroups, split between reformist and revolutionary viewpoints. Liberals, progressives and social democrats believe that equality can be accommodated into existing capitalist structures, but they differ in their criticism of capitalism and on the extent of reform and the welfare state. Anarchists, communists, and socialists, among others on the far left, on the other hand argue for abolition of the capitalist system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Mason (journalist)</span> British journalist

Paul Mason is a British journalist. He writes a weekly column at The New European and monthly columns for Social Europe and Frankfurter Rundschau. He was Business Editor of the BBC Two television programme Newsnight from 2001, and Culture and Digital Editor of Channel 4 News from 2013, becoming the programme's Economics Editor in 2014. He left Channel 4 in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Murray (author)</span> British author and right wing political commentator

Douglas Murray is a British author and conservative political commentator. He founded the Centre for Social Cohesion in 2007, which became part of the Henry Jackson Society, where he was associate director from 2011 to 2018. He is currently an associate editor of the conservative British political and cultural magazine The Spectator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Nandy</span> British Labour politician

Lisa Eva Nandy is a British Labour Party politician serving as Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development in 2023. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010. Nandy previously served as Shadow Foreign Secretary, Shadow Levelling Up Secretary and Shadow Energy Secretary.

The 2010 Labour Party leadership election was triggered on 10 May 2010 by incumbent leader Gordon Brown's resignation following the 2010 general election which resulted in a hung parliament; the first since 1974. Brown resigned as Leader of the Labour Party on 10 May and as Prime Minister on 11 May, following the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats forming a coalition government. The National Executive Committee decided the timetable for the election the result of which would be announced at the annual party conference. On 25 September 2010, Ed Miliband became the new Leader of the Labour Party, narrowly defeating his older brother, David.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Labour</span> Pressure group in the UK Labour Party

Blue Labour is a British campaign group and political faction that seeks to promote blue-collar and culturally conservative values within the British Labour Party — particularly on immigration, crime, and community spirit — while remaining committed to labour rights and left-wing economic policies. It seeks to represent a traditional working-class approach to Labour politics. Launched in 2009 as a counter to New Labour, the Blue Labour movement first rose to prominence after Labour's defeat in the 2010 general election, in which for the first time the party received fewer working-class votes than it did middle-class votes. The movement has influenced a handful of Labour MPs and frontbenchers; founder Maurice Glasman served as a close ally to Ed Miliband during his early years as Leader of the Opposition, before himself becoming a life peer in the House of Lords. The movement has also seen a resurgence of interest after the loss of red wall seats in the 2019 general election.

Sarah Solemani is an English actress, writer and activist. She is best known for her role as Becky in the BAFTA winning sitcom Him & Her and playing Renee Zellweger's best friend Miranda in Bridget Jones's Baby, for which she was nominated for an Evening Standard Best Actress Award. She also had roles in the British comedy TV series Bad Education and The Wrong Mans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Cruddas, Baron Cruddas</span> English banker and businessman

Peter Andrew Cruddas, Baron Cruddas is an English banker and businessman. He is the founder of online trading company CMC Markets. In the 2007 Sunday Times Rich List, he was named the richest man in the City of London, with an estimated fortune of £860 million. As of March 2012, Forbes estimated his wealth at $1.3 billion, equivalent to £830 million at the time.

Daniel Pearce Jackson Hodges is a British newspaper columnist. Since March 2016, he has written a weekly column for The Mail on Sunday. Prior to this, he was a columnist for The Daily Telegraph and in 2013 was described by James Forsyth in The Spectator as David Cameron's "new favourite columnist".

<i>Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class</i> 2011 book by Owen Jones

Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class is a non-fiction work by the British writer and political commentator Owen Jones, first published in 2011. It discusses stereotypes of sections of the British working class and use of the pejorative term chav. The book received attention in domestic and international media, including selection by critic Dwight Garner of The New York Times as one of his top 10 non-fiction books of 2011 in the paper's Holiday Gift Guide and being long-listed for the Guardian First Book Award.

<i>Bloody Nasty People</i> 2012 book by Daniel Trilling

Bloody Nasty People: The Rise of Britain's Far Right is a 2012 book about far-right politics in the United Kingdom by British author and journalist Daniel Trilling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Bloodworth (journalist)</span> English journalist and writer

James Bloodworth is an English journalist and writer. He has authored two full length books, also writing articles for newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian. Much of Bloodworth's work concerns the struggles of working class people, yet he has been praised by both sides of the political spectrum. He lives in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Bastani</span> British writer

Aaron Bastani is a British writer. He co-founded the left-wing media organisation Novara Media in 2011, and has hosted and co-hosted many of its podcasts and videos. After a 2014 video for the publication, he popularised the term "fully automated luxury communism", which describes a post-capitalist society in which automation greatly reduces the amount of labour humans need to do. He wrote a book in 2019, Fully Automated Luxury Communism, about the subject. Bastani has also written for The Guardian, London Review of Books, openDemocracy and Vice, and is known for his Twitter activity.

References

  1. "An evening of Socialism with Owen Jones". Canterbury Labour Party. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021. Jones describes himself as a democratic socialist, indeed, socialism used to be a term the Labour Party was more than happy to champion.
  2. "Registry Entry". FreeBMD. Free BMD. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  3. Webster, Laura (4 January 2024). "Owen Jones joins The National as a new regular contributor". The National. Glasgow. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  4. "Owen Jones". Mirror. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  5. "Owen Jones Graphic novels and Illustration Non-Fiction". British Council. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  6. "Time to abolish Oxbridge?". The Oxford Student . 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  7. Meltzer, Hannah (3 March 2013). "John McDonnell interview: how Labour is moving to the left" . New Statesman . Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  8. Evans, Richard J. (2019). Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 642. ISBN   978-0-19-045964-2.
  9. "Owen Jones". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 11 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  10. Neather, Andrew (23 April 2011). "The Marx effect". Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  11. Tattersall, Amanda; ChangeMakers; Jones, Owen (2020). "Changemaker Chat with Owen Jones: The story behind one of the United Kingdom's most high profile left wing figure". Commons Social Change Library. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  12. Cruddas, Jon (3 June 2011). "Book of the week: Chavs: the demonization of the working class by Owen Jones". The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  13. "Book of the week: Chavs: the demonization of the working class by Owen". The Independent. London. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  14. "Media" (Press release). Stonewall. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  15. "Owen Jones". David Higham. Archived from the original on 1 December 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  16. Crampton, Caroline (7 February 2013). "Watch: Lord Ashcroft tries to pwn Owen Jones, fails" . New Statesman. London. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  17. "The Royal Television Society Lecture 2013 – 'Totally Shameless: How TV Portrays the Working Class'". BBC. 24 November 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  18. This Land: The Story of a Movement. Penguin Books. 2020. ISBN   978-0-241-47094-7.
  19. Daisy, Schofield (7 October 2020). "Owen Jones: I never wanted a Platform". Huck Magazine. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  20. Len, McCluskey (14 October 2020). "I had high hopes for Owen Jones's book on Corbynism. But I was disappointed". New Statesman. London. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  21. Benn, Melissa (11 November 2020). "Books of the year - 2020". New Statesman. London. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  22. Wotherspoon, Jenny (23 May 2013). "People's Assembly: Writer Owen Jones Helps Build Nationwide Anti-Cuts Movement In The North East". Sky. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  23. "Owen Jones". Staffordshire University.[ permanent dead link ]
  24. Morrison, Hamish (8 September 2022). "BBC's Nicholas Witchell slammed over 'tasteless' speculation on Queen's health". The National. Glasgow. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  25. Stroude, Will (14 October 2019). "Owen Jones: 'Whenever the far-right is strong, LGBTQ people are at risk'". Attitude Magazine. No. 3. Stream Publishing. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  26. Billson, Chantelle (19 October 2022). "Owen Jones explains how right-wing media is fuelling a transphobic 'cult'". Pink News. London. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  27. Parson, Vic (20 July 2020). "Gay journalist Owen Jones says the vicious attack on him is proof the UK isn't fighting far-right extremism properly". Pink News. London. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  28. "Owen Jones does #DryJanuary for Cancer Research UK". Gay Times. London. 5 January 2016. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  29. Lees, Paris (23 April 2015). "Paris Lees: 'We won't fix society for trans people without strong allies'". Attitude Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  30. "Man jailed for attacking journalist Owen Jones". BBC News. 24 July 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  31. Jones, Owen (21 March 2024). "The Labour party is in my blood. Here's why I've just cancelled my membership". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  32. 1 2 "Owen Jones urges Labour voters to back other parties". BBC News. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.