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Owen JonesPolitical commentator, journalist, writer and left-wing activist
Date of Birth: 08.08.1984
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Writing and Public Career
- Activism and Campaigns
- Political Activism
- Awards and Recognition
- Personal Life
Early Life and Education
Owen Jones was born in Sheffield and raised in Stockport. He attended Bramhall High School and Ridge Danyers College Sixth Form. He earned a degree in history from University College Oxford, graduating in 2005. Before entering journalism, Jones worked as a union lobbyist and parliamentary researcher for Labour MP John McDonnell. He was also briefly hired by historian Eric Hobsbawm to index and catalogue his papers.
Writing and Public Career
Columnist, Broadcaster, and AuthorJones is a weekly columnist for The Guardian newspaper, having joined in March 2014 from The Independent. His work has also appeared in the New Statesman, Sunday Mirror, Le Monde Diplomatique, and several smaller publications. He writes from a left-wing perspective.
In 2011, Jones published his first book, "Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class," which analyzed cultural stereotypes of the British working class as boorish and antisocial "chavs." The book was selected by New York Times critic Dwight Garner as one of his top 10 nonfiction books of 2011 and reviewed by MP Jon Cruddas. In November 2012, Jones was awarded Stonewall Journalist of the Year alongside The Times journalist Hugo Rifkind.
Jones' second book, "The Establishment: And How They Get Away with It," was published in September 2014. The Daily Telegraph ranked Jones as the seventh most influential left-wing figure in Britain in 2013. In February 2013, when Jones was awarded Young Writer of the Year at the Political Book Awards, he donated half of his £3,000 prize money to support the Labour parliamentary candidate Lisa Forbes and the other half to the Disabled People Against Cuts organization.
Activism and Campaigns
Jones has campaigned against austerity measures and for LGBTQ+ rights. He spoke at the launch press conference for the People's Assembly Against Austerity on 26 March 2013 and at regional public meetings leading up to its national gathering in Central Hall Westminster on 22 June 2013. In November 2013, he delivered the Royal Television Society's Hugh Weldon Memorial Lecture, entitled "Utterly Shameless: How TV Portrays the Working Class." On 24 September 2020, Jones published "This Land: The Struggle for a Left-Wing Future."
Political Activism
Jones is a republican and an LGBTQ+ rights campaigner. He has been attacked for his political views. In August 2019, Jones and his friends were attacked near a London pub. In January 2020, one of the three attackers was convicted of aggravated assault, with the judge concluding that Jones, who is gay, was targeted because of his sexuality and left-wing beliefs; the other two perpetrators were convicted of affray.
Awards and Recognition
Awards- Stonewall Journalist of the Year (2012)
- Young Writer of the Year, Political Book Awards (2013)
- Honorary Doctor of the University (DUniv) from Staffordshire University (2015)
