Owen Jones
Jones in 2021
Born (1984-08-08) 8 August 1984
Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
EducationUniversity College, Oxford (BA, MSt)
Occupations
  • Columnist
  • author
Political partyLabour
Parent
Writing career
Subjects
Notable works

Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984)[2] is a British newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, author, and left-wing activist. He writes a column for The Guardian and contributes to the New Statesman and Tribune. He has two weekly web series, The Owen Jones Show, and The Owen Jones Podcast. He was previously a columnist for The Independent.

Early life and education

Jones was born Sheffield and raised in Stockport, he attended Bramhall High School and Ridge Danyers Sixth Form College[3][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 speaking in 2013

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]

The Daily Telegraph placed Jones 7th in its 2013 list of Britain's most influential left-wingers.[16] 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.[17]

Jones at Policy Exchange, September 2013

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.[18][19] In November 2013, he delivered the Royal Television Society's Huw Wheldon Memorial Lecture, Totally Shameless: How TV Portrays the Working Class.[20]

On 24 September 2020, Jones published This Land: The Struggle for the Left.[21] Jones was interviewed by Huck about the book.[22] The book received a negative review from British trade unionist Len McCluskey.[23] 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)".[24]

Political Activism

Jones is a republican in the UK sense of the term.[25] He is notable as a LGBTQ+ campaigner.[26]

2019 assault

In August 2019, Jones and his friends were attacked outside a London pub.[27] In January 2020, one of the three attackers was found guilty of aggravated assault, with the judge concluding that Jones, who is gay,[28][29] was targeted for his LGBT identity and left-wing beliefs; the other two perpetrators were convicted of affray.[30]

Honours

In 2012, Jones was Stonewall Journalist of the Year and in 2013, he was Political Book Awards Young Writer of the Year.[31]

In 2015, Jones was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University (DUniv) by Staffordshire University.[32]

Personal life

In June 2023, Jones announced he had been diagnosed with ADHD.[33]

Books

  • 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.

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. ↑ "Owen Jones (@OwenJones84)". Twitter. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "Owen Jones". Mirror. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  4. ↑ Jones, Owen (11 October 2013). "Owen Jones goes Back to School: 'Why do people tell you to imagine those interviewing you are naked?'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Owen Jones Graphic novels and Illustration Non-Fiction". British Council. 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. Archived from the original on 11 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Neather, Andrew (23 April 2011). "The Marx effect". London 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. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Media". Stonewall.org.uk. 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. ↑ Dale, Iain (2 October 2012). "Top 100 most influential figures from the Left 2012: 26–50". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  17. ↑ Crampton, Caroline (7 February 2013). "Watch: Lord Ashcroft tries to pwn Owen Jones, fails". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  18. ↑ Jones, Owen (24 March 2013). "How the People's Assembly can challenge our suffocating political consensus and why it's vital that we do". Independent. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  19. ↑ 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.
  20. ↑ "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.
  21. ↑ This Land: The Story of a Movement. Penguin Books. 2020. ISBN 978-0-241-47094-7.
  22. ↑ Daisy, Schofield (7 October 2020). "Owen Jones: I never wanted a Platform". www.huckmag.com. Huck Magazine. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  23. ↑ Len, McCluskey (14 October 2020). "I had high hopes for Owen Jones's book on Corbynism. But I was disappointed". www.newstatesman.com/. New Statesman. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  24. ↑ Benn, Benn (11 November 2020). "Books of the year - 2020". www.newstatesman.com. New Statesman. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  25. ↑ "BBC's Nicholas Witchell slammed over 'tasteless' speculation on Queen's health". The National (Scotland). 8 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  26. ↑ Billson, Chantelle (19 October 2022). "Owen Jones explains how right-wing media is fuelling a transphobic 'cult'". Pink News. Pink News. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  27. ↑ Jones, Owen [@OwenJones84] (17 August 2019). "This is a bit dramatic, so firstly I'm fine, but last night – when I was celebrating my birthday – I was attacked, along with my friends, in a blatant premeditated assault" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  28. ↑ "Owen Jones does #DryJanuary for Cancer Research UK". Gay Times. 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. ↑ "Owen Jones – Literature". literature.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  32. ↑ "Owen Jones". Staffordshire University.
  33. ↑ Jones, Owen [@OwenJones74] (2 July 2023). "As I said in my video about it, women are underdiagnosed with ADHD. I don't see being diagnosed with ADHD as a big deal, or something that makes me a victim or special or whatever. I just thought it would be helpful to use my platform to talk about it, that's it!" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 November 2023 – via Twitter.
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