The Owen Jones Podcast

We're told by the Tories and their media allies that there's a whopping big £50 billion fiscal hole which, unless we do another round of cuts that'll destroy public services, will cause the markets to collapse. It's a big lie. Here I explain why - and why we can't let them get away with it. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

Wow. A former Tory Cabinet minister, Sir George Eustice, declared to the House of Commons that the trade deal with Australia was a "failure" and "not actually a very good deal" for the UK. But we were promised a post-Brexit buccaneering Britain: instead, the Tories have given us non-existent growth and declining living standards. Will we really let them get away with it? Support this show http://s...

Unfortunately, suggesting the Health Secretary Steve Barclay is high is a generous explanation after he said the NHS doesn't need more cash. Wow. Just wow. The truth is the NHS is teetering on the edge of total catastrophe - soaring waiting lists, unstaffed vacancies, collapsing morale - and without urgent extra resources, people are going to die. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-o...

Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter has been marked by mass sackings, mass resignations, mass desertions by advertisers, a calamitous abandoned rollout of 'Twitter Blue', and talk of bankruptcy: all in the space of a fortnight. Is this really the end of Twitter? We're joined by New York Times tech reporter Mike Isaac with the inside story of a disaster, and former Twitter vice-president Bruce Daisley....

Matt Hancock is being paid £400,000 rather than do his parliamentary duties, and he clearly has one main aim: to whitewash his reputation, and make us think of him as a cuddly nice guy. If you fall for this, you're a sucker. This is a Health Secretary who presided over avoidable mass death, PPE shortages and real terms pay cuts for nurses. It's this repeated failure of accountability that keeps le...

Oh dear oh dear. You might have thought Elon Musk's take over of Twitter would be disastrous - but did you think it would be this bad? There's now every chance that a medium which, whatever its flaws, has become a critical plank of our social and democratic infrastructure could collapse. Here's the story of the catastrophe - and why it has very, very serious implications for all of us. Support thi...

Oh dear oh dear: it was supposed to be a Republican wave - in mid-terms, the opposition normally does well, there's massive inflation and Joe Biden's popularity is low - but it didn't happen. To explain what the results mean - for the Democrats, the left and Donald Trump - I'm joined by David Sirota - journalist, former Bernie Sanders speechwriter and writer of 'Don't Look Up'. Support this show h...

In the name of clamping down on refugees, a Tory MP has proposed scrapping all your rights and freedoms. Think I'm being hyperbolic? Well, bad luck! This goes to show where bigotry always leads: it's not the foreign 'other' which threatens your freedom, but demagogues who try to scare you about those deemed to be alien. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast . Hosted o...

What is the BBC thinking? As bile and hatred is whipped up against migrants and refugees - some of the most vulnerable people on earth - a BBC reporter talks of the UK "defending itself on the frontline against migrants". This is the language of war and invasion - and with a far right terrorist attack on a migrant processing centre, this narrative is radicalising dangerous elements. This is the tr...

In a very funny slapdown of the Prime Minister and his incessant attacks on the former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn declared he lives 'rent free' in Rishi Sunak's head. But the Tory attempts to link Keir Starmer to Corbynism belie a basic fact: progressive policies - like taxing the rich and public ownership - are not just hugely popular, but more relevant than ever. Here's why these attacks can't...

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, or so the quote ascribed to Albert Einstein goes, and that more than applies to the catastrophic failure of the 'war on drugs'. All it's achieved is mass criminalisation of disproportionately young Black men, more violence, people with addiction not getting the support they need, handing crimin...

Vile. The Home Secretary sprayed the sort of invective about asylum seekers you might expect from the far right. I give the facts here: those arriving at our shores are a tiny proportion of those fleeing violence and persecution globally - most are hosted by poorer countries, and many are leaving homes because of Western complicity. Why do we allow ourselves to be conned by the powerful into blami...

Last week, the BBC committed a straightforward violation of journalistic objectivity, presenting Tory spending cuts as an inevitable consequence of the economic situation. I did a video about it, and huge numbers of you complained. The BBC have now responded to your complaints - and goodness grief, it is absolutely epic gaslighting and dishonesty. This matters - a public broadcaster which is suppo...

Hallelujah: far right demagogue Jair Bolsonaro has been defeated in Brazil's presidential election by progressive standardbearer and former president Lula da Silva. It was a victory secured despite attempts at voter suppression by an authoritarian regime. But nonetheless - despite Bolsonaro's catastrophic record - the vote was so close. Why? How was victory achieved? What happens next? And how fri...

After Liz Truss' catastrophic premiership, the Tories remain way behind Labour, despite clawing some support back - but with Rishi Sunak moving ahead of Keir Starmer in personal ratings and economic trust, and the Conservatives uniting after intense civil war, could the government - against all the odds - pull back from the brink? Please subscribe - and help us take on the right wing media here: h...

Goodness grief: the Home Secretary got reinstated after leaking confidential information, all so Rishi Sunak could have Suella Braverman's support in the Tory leadership contest. But are there any fans of Braverman who want to put up a fight? Well, on the Jeremy Vine Show today one rang in and claimed Braverman was "excellent" - and I asked them one good thing the Home Secretary had done to justif...

Well, we are well and truly f**ked. Rishi Sunak is refusing to turn up to the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, and he's demoted the climate minister. This comes on the day that UN released a truly devastating report. We should be absolutely - because this is what it means. Please share, subscribe - and help us take on the right-wing media here: https://patreon.com/owenjones84 Support this show...

No one sums up how utterly rotten Rishi Sunak's Conservative government is than Suella Braverman. The only reason he's reappointed her Home Secretary - after she resigned in disgrace last week - is because he needed the support of unhinged right-wingers to stop Boris Johnson getting on the ballot paper. Here's why Braverman sums up how utterly wretched and toxic this government will be. Please sub...

This is an unacceptable breach of journalistic objectivity - with potentially devastating consequences. In its coverage of Rishi Sunak's ascent to the premiership, the BBC declared that spending cuts - as well as tax rises - are inevitable. Both are political choices. If the government decided to increase taxes on the wealthy - as I set out here - then they could avoid spending cuts. If the BBC ge...

What the hell was that? Rishi Sunak's first national address after becoming Tory leader was a truly bizarre robotic performance which made the lettuce which outlived Liz Truss look like a charismatic titan. But what about the substance of a prime minister who is twice as wealthy as our unelected head of state - and what it means for our crisis-ridden country? Don't forget to subscribe - and help u...

As Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak battle for the Tory leadership while the country sinks further into crisis, we've got the best analysis of what happens now. We're joined by journalist Adam Bienkov and Conservative writer Tim Montgomerie. Please subscribe - and help us take on the right-wing media here: https://patreon.com/owenjones84 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-pod...

As the Tories roll back their energy support package, households are faced with £5,000 energy bills - just completely unaffordable for millions, and threatening to driven large sections of the population below the waterline. What if we all refuse to pay our energy bills - and forced the government to come back with proper support? That's the plan of Don't Pay UK who are asking for one million peop...

As Liz Truss is forced out of office, Britain will have its third prime minister this year. Whether it's Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt or indeed Boris Johnson - who is plotting a return - this farce leaves Britain in an economic and soil death spiral. Only a general election gives this country hope of being prised away from the grip of these lunatics - but will the Tories ever allow an election whic...

According to Liz Truss' former advisor, the now Prime Minister had one person she never wanted to appear on Question Time with because "he was a long-time baiter". Well, as someone who's been on the programme with her... was she talking about me? On Question Time I made an argument about a major threat posed by the Tories if we left the EU on their terms - and there's a big lesson to learn from it...

As a new poll shows that Liz Truss is almost as unpopular with British citizens as Vladimir Putin, her 'apology' should be treated with the contempt it deserves. But don't let the Tories get away with blaming all this on her: this was a team effort, and now they all have to pay. Please subscribe - and help us take on the right-wing media here: https://patreon.com/owenjones84 Support this show http...