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Owen Jones

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For other people named Owen Jones, see Owen Jones (disambiguation).

Owen Jones
Jones in 2024
Born (1984-08-08) 8 August 1984 (age 40)
Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
EducationUniversity College, Oxford (BA, MSt)
Occupations
  • Columnist
  • author
Political partyLabour Party (1999–2024)
MotherRuth Aylett
Writing career
Subjects
Notable works
Owen Jones's voice
Recorded June 2014

Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, commentator, journalist, author and political activist.

He writes a column for The Guardian and contributes to the New Statesman, Tribune, and The National[2] 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

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Jones was born on 8 August 1984[3] 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] His mother is British computer scientist Ruth Aylett[6] and his father, Robert Jones, was a union organiser. They met through their membership in the Militant tendency, a Trotskyist group within the Labour Party.[7] Robert Jones developed prostate cancer,[8] and died in 2018.[6]

Before entering journalism, he worked as a trade union lobbyist and a parliamentary researcher for the Labour Party MP John McDonnell.[9][10] At one point he was also hired by the historian Eric Hobsbawm to index and archive his papers.[11]

Writings and public career

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Columnist, broadcaster and writer

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Jones is a weekly columnist for The Guardian[12] 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.[13][14]

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.[15] In November 2012, Jones was awarded Journalist of the Year at the Stonewall Awards, along with The Times journalist Hugo Rifkind.[16] Jones' second book, The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It, was published in September 2014.[17]

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.[18]

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.[19]

On 12 June 2016, Jones walked out of a live television newspaper review on Sky News. Discussing the Orlando shooting earlier that day, Jones (who himself is gay)[20] insisted that the attack was a homophobic hate crime, while host Mark Longhurst maintained that the shooting was carried out against "human beings trying to enjoy themselves, whatever their sexuality".[21]

On 24 September 2020, Jones published This Land: The Struggle for the Left.[22] Jones was interviewed by Huck about the book.[23] The book received a negative review from British trade unionist Len McCluskey,[24] 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)".[25]

Jones has a YouTube channel, which as of November 2024, has 661,000 subscribers and over 89 million views.[26]

Political activism

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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.[27]

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.[28] Jones supports abolishing the monarchy of the United Kingdom.[29] He has spoken out about transphobia and LGBTQ rights.[30][31] In 2019, Jones and some friends were attacked outside a London pub in a homophobic attack.[32][33][34] All the perpetrators were convicted.[35]

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.[36] 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.[37] Jones also criticised the Labour Party's rejection of a cap on bankers' bonuses and its opposition to a wealth tax, among other issues.[37]

In the 2024 United Kingdom general election Jones supported We Deserve Better, a group which campaigned against Labour in favour of Green and independent candidates.[38][39]

In June 2024 the New Statesman named Jones 45th in The Left Power List 2024, the magazine's "guide to the 50 most influential people in progressive politics", noting that his "future influence will hinge on the electoral performance of the non-Labour left".[40]

Books

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  • Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class. Verso Books. 2011. ISBN 978-1-78168-398-9.
  • The Establishment: And How They Get Away with It. Penguin Books. 2014. ISBN 978-0-14-197499-6.
  • The Alternative: And How We Build It. Penguin Books. 2019. ISBN 978-0-241-25396-0.
  • This Land: The Story of a Movement. Penguin Books. 2020. ISBN 978-0-241-47094-7. (originally published as This Land: The Struggle for the Left)

References

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  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. ^ Webster, Laura (4 January 2024). "Owen Jones joins The National as a new regular contributor". The National. Glasgow. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Owen Jones (@OwenJones84)". Twitter. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Owen Jones". Mirror. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Owen Jones Graphic novels and Illustration Non-Fiction". British Council. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b See the "Acknowledgements" section of Jones, Owen (2020). This Land: The Story of a Movement. Penguin. ISBN 9780141994406.
  7. ^ Phelim Brady (8 February 2013). "Interview: Owen Jones". Varsity.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  8. ^ Aitken, Vivienne (21 July 2015). "Cancer patients miss out on vital drug due to shortage of nurses at Edinburgh hospital". Daily Record.
  9. ^ "Time to abolish Oxbridge?". The Oxford Student. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Evans, Richard J. (2019). Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 642. ISBN 978-0-19-045964-2.
  12. ^ "Owen Jones". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 11 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  13. ^ Neather, Andrew (23 April 2011). "The Marx effect". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "Media" (Press release). Stonewall. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  17. ^ "Owen Jones". David Higham. Archived from the original on 1 December 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "Owen Jones: Journalist attacked because of sexuality and political views". BBC News. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  21. ^ "Owen Jones stormed off Sky News as presenters 'deflected' homophobia of Orlando shooting". The Independent. London. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  22. ^ This Land: The Story of a Movement. Penguin Books. 2020. ISBN 978-0-241-47094-7.
  23. ^ Daisy, Schofield (7 October 2020). "Owen Jones: I never wanted a Platform". Huck Magazine. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  24. ^ McCluskey, Len (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.
  25. ^ Benn, Melissa (11 November 2020). "Books of the year - 2020". New Statesman. London. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  26. ^ "Owen Jones - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ "Owen Jones". Staffordshire University.[permanent dead link‍]
  29. ^ Morrison, Hamish (8 September 2022). "BBC's Nicholas Witchell slammed over 'tasteless' speculation on Queen's health". The National. Glasgow. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  30. ^ 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.
  31. ^ Billson, Chantelle (19 October 2022). "Owen Jones explains how right-wing media is fuelling a transphobic 'cult'". Pink News. London. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  32. ^ 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.
  33. ^ "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.
  34. ^ Lees, Paris (23 April 2015). "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.
  35. ^ "Man jailed for attacking journalist Owen Jones". BBC News. 24 July 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  36. ^ Jones, Owen (21 March 2024). "The Labour party is in my blood. Here's why I've just cancelled my membership". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  37. ^ a b "Owen Jones urges Labour voters to back other parties". BBC News. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  38. ^ "New political initiative aims to pose 'serious challenge' to Labour in England". The National. Glasgow. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  39. ^ Jones, Owen (21 March 2024). "The Labour party is in my blood. Here's why I've just cancelled my membership". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  40. ^ "The Left Power List 2024". New Statesman. London. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
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