'They Will Want To Bleed Him To Death': Owen Jones on Corbyn, Labour and the Future of the Left

Journalist, writer and Labour activist Owen Jones sat down with Novara Media to talk about what Corbynmania means for the left wing movements.
Interview: Aaron Bastani
Camera/Edit: Ralph Pritchard
Help us caption & translate this video!
amara.org/v/GwL0/

[@ScottishMatters]

Great interview Aaron. This is fast becoming a must watch channel.

[@CrazyBessie79]

scottish matters Sure is :) i'm hooked :D

[@KrayzListerine]

Hilarious pronunciation of 'party'. Big fan of that.

[@microscopic]

***** it was like someone having a go at a Welsh party but it sounding a bit like a Pakistani party.

[@microscopic]

why bother commenting on anything on youtube generally?

[@petersz98]

It's called the Flat A!

[@peterred]

+Toby Lister ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha split my sides ha ha ha ha ha

[@jackmansfield4453]

+Toby Lister Paused the vid after the 2nd "party" and yours was the first comment...thanks.

[@VeronicasMidget]

George Galloway for London Mayor.

[@SedriqMiers]

***** Owen Jones For Deputy Prime Minister.

[@jazzx251]

+TheUnswatableMidge Dennis Skinner has already sewn that one up.

[@LolLol-ch7sl]

***** I don't want London to have sharia law so no

[@hbledzep8]

Excellent video. Its good someone out there still talks sense and knows history further back than 15 years. Refreshing

[@georgechristodoulides9354]

+hbledzep8 Why on earth would anyone want to go back more than 15 years? Grim times.

[@penny-farthing]

George Christodoulides I lived through them and it was great. It's dismal now!

[@georgechristodoulides9354]

***** Seriously? You lived through the 3 day week, militant unionism, the sick man days and the WoD and thought it was great?

[@Reverend-Rodger]

+George Christodoulides That happened in the year 2000?

[@georgechristodoulides9354]

Danny Tigz 'Further back than 15 years', so before 15 years mate. So no, before the year 2000..

[@UylssesSyndrome]

Parteeey.

[@InParticularNobody]

Ulysses J Paaaaaarttee

[@lenkapenka6976]

Superb interview, really enjoyed listening to this. Both Owen and Aaron on top form!

[@p1nm0re]

Looks younger than his years considering he took a leading part in organizing the Jarrow March in 1936....

[@phoenixzappa7366]

+knockshinnoch1950 40 years "down mine" man and boy

[@thecrimsonbubbles]

looking at Owen and Aaron it's difficult to say which of them is older, I'd guess there's only a couple of years between them, if that

[@dantealighieriish]

Owen Jones can talk for half an hour and say nothing. Now, that is the skill

[@Vaygor]

OK, so Owen gets a lot of hate from comment dwellers because they use one off events, such as him storming off set, as an excuse to ignore all his arguments and continue with their views; instead of allowing them to be challenged. I think Owen raised many good points here and opened up a door to this agenda of conversation within the British left. Well done!

[@Dewiart16]

Wouldn't it be better if we abolished ALL political parties and we had a Parliament made up only of independent MPs who act like a giant jury . No whips, no pre-arranged voting, just REAL democracy. And people no longer putting themselves into little boxes with lots of rules and beliefs that they have to obey.

[@spinach-colour-joey6776]

why is he saying "party" weird?

[@08SunSun08]

Northern uk accent

[@spinach-colour-joey6776]

nope. it ain't that. i'm from the uk btw

[@petersz98]

It's called the "flat a", Americans and in the North of England a is pronounced like this sometimes.

[@shacklock01]

Candolad ....I thought he was from stockport? Pretty sure he is, he wrote a book about scallies in stockport, cos hes from stockport haha. Pretty sure he went Bramhall Highschool of all places haha bless him.

[@jacobgracey2442]

+Candolad I'm from nottingham lad, and I pronounce party correctly.

[@robyourtime]

Comparing UKIP with National Front. FFS

[@antsholland757]

+Alice Rabbit you are very funny

[@antsholland757]

+Alice Rabbit You know white people used to be black right?

[@antsholland757]

+Alice Rabbit So you're ancestors were black, you are the descendant of an undermensch.

[@robyourtime]

Haven't you see the paintings of Adam and Eve? Definitely white...

[@antsholland757]

rob poynter Do you realise that in Africa, Coptic Christians show Adam and Eve as being black?

[@caitlyncanavan1850]

I don't see any sense in attacking people's position in these matters, but I do see this as a kind of fools errand. It seems unrealistic to think that Britain will move enough to the left in our lifetime, to ever elect a man like Corbin, or any other far left politician.

[@thelesserfeat6298]

And they did.

[@agdgdgwngo]

Surreal to watch this considering how well Corbyn has done.

[@Cromper]

Nice to see Owen Jones having a chit-chat whilst millions of REAL workers are keeping the country going!

[@inglian02]

Not convinced by "I wanted Austerity Lite in order to build opposition to it," or have I misunderstood?

[@JeffUK]

Richard Turner He's saying he preferred to get a Labour government and try to pressure them into making changes for the better than a Conservative government.

[@peterbalchin]

Both Owen Jones and Jeremy Corbyn are good for politics and good for involvement of the young in politics imho.

[@erzan]

The London Mayor election uses proportional voting so a Labour Party supporter can vote Labour first, Green second and Liberal Democrats last.

[@simpsonsim07]

erzan You can only choose two candidates.

[@erzan]

simpsonsim07 Point still stands.

[@simpsonsim07]

Yeah, people might be confused when they try and vote for the lib dems last and have their ballots void

[@chris6770]

Owen sounds like a prisoner of his own ideology, from 13:05 onwards. He makes a very good case as to why the Green party is more progressive and electoral reform a necessity but can't break free of his commitment to build a Labour left rather than focus on those very political reforms that will free all of us. His attachments mean he's got it backwards, fortunately the rest of us needn't be so blinded. Stop trying to work within a first past the post system that doesn't work for people or democracy or real representation and which is a constant roadblock to real change, Owen! Electoral Reform Society and Constitution UK at LSE both deserve a mention.

[@WIDGI]

chris6770 what he actually says is, he IS a prisoner of his own ideology because of the rules within Labour and that those rules should be changed. But also that the Green Party have more in common with the Labour Party than the power obsessed Blairites who have assumed power within the (New) Labour Party. What is inspiring hope though is that Corbyn is actually presenting a real alternative that has been missing from the Labour Party since Blair offered the country a change and then turned out to be a Red Tory. It has been assumed within the political class (whatever that means) that Thatcherism has won and there is no alternative, so to keep the Tories out, everyone needs to become Tory, forcing the Tories further to the right. Clearly, I agree, there needs to be electoral reform and indeed, one of the things Owen says in this interview is that he encourages people to support a single issue, such as electoral reform. He is trying to have a long-term game plan that has been unexpectedly accelerated by the Corbyn effect and taken many people by surprise. Personally, I don't see why the Greens and Labour might not ultimately merge but for now, let's see what happens in the weeks and months to come.

[@frtoxable]

I enjoyed that. Good questions and interesting answers. Food for thought...

[@h3akalee]

Imagine getting sent to War with Owen Jones? Imagine having to have to depend upon him with your life? No i can't either.

[@lesleycarter8233]

My dad fought in WWII ......if he were alive today he’d have more in common with Owen Jones than you...

[@MarkJVSomers]

Hm, Owen dodging the 'would you vote green' question here somewhat.

[@SuperBenjo97]

He says the word 'party' really strangely... Other than that though I would agree with most of it

[@MrTrevormctrevor]

watched three owen jones videos in a row, i don't think i've seen him answer a question directly yet. he would make a great mp

[@maddysutherland2112]

I agree with everything Owen is saying apart from his views on Scottish Nationalism. That's over now (thank god) and we have to stand together, not make excuses.

[@EmilyCarver]

12 pound/hr minimum wage. Right. Queue thousands of businesses unable to stay afloat.

[@jimmymyers8753]

Just concentrate on Rent Boys , Jones !!

[@HeiwaPaz2000]

I find it difficult to understand Owen´s accent!!! Where is he from or which part of England is he from, please? Anyone?

[@jtuck35]

Even six months of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the PLP could have a huge effect on the balance of UK politics. Think about a whole generation of young and youngish voters, a significant proportion of whom voted Tory in the last election. If you remove Jeremy Corbyn from this labour leadership fight, those voters are going to spend the next five years imagining the spread of politics going from Yvette Cooper on the 'left' to David Cameron over on the right. That's the most destructive thing about the FPtP system, the way in which it limits the general public's exposure to the possibilities of politics. Corbyn's hypothetical six months in charge are not going to convince any Tory voters to vote labour, but they're going to give young and otherwise agnostic voters an opportunity to view 'mainstream' politics as a wider sweep, to put Cameron's tories in their proper place as a genuinely right-wing party (not just the 'slightly more pro-austerity ones'). Or, in short: Corbyn is unlikely to shift the Overton Window to the left, but he's unquestionably going to /stretch/ it to the left. Indeed, he already has. It definitely won't hurt to have the rampantly victorious SNP sitting in the same parliament either.

[@vinzholton]

labour party is a bunch of KGB officers.

[@timofarrelly9380]

+Vin Colton they all are and its not called the kgb anymore !they are all a shower of evil nazis tory labour....parliament is a cesspool of corruption ruled over by the corporation of the city of London....learn stuff m8,u got a computer!

[@scubasausage]

Somebody tell me how leaving NATO, de-commissioning nuclear power and re-opening the coal mines are in any way shape or form "common sense"?

[@politicalphilosophy-thegre3053]

*Utopia, by Thomas More* June, 1500 A.D University of Westminster Press 1.1.1 *Book I. Chapter 1. Section 1.* Politics in London- How A State Should Treat Its People 1.1.2 *Book I. Chapter 1. Section 2.* Paying The Populace Fairly 1.1.3 *Book II.Chapter 1. Section 3.* How English Taxes Should Be Organised 1.1.4 *Book II Chapter 2. Section 1.* Legal System 1.1.5 *Book II Chapter 2. Section 1.* Cooperative Labour and Rights 1.1.6 *Book III Chapter 2. Section 2.* Instruments of Justice 1.1.7 *Book III Chapter 2. Section 3.* Towards a New England 1.1.8 *Book III Chapter 2. Section 4.* Payments, Welfare And Reperations 1.1.9 *Book III Chapter 3. Section 1.* Salary of Peasants and Wayfarers 1.1.10 *Book III Chapter 3 .Section 2.* Education in the English Commonwealth

[@juliettejones6091]

Go Owen! Cool guy.

[@trevorcharlesmorgan]

Owen, you're so great, I love people who just are so popular by saying everything people want to hear. Forget discipline or working hard to make your life better, lets get the state to pay for everything. Don't you just hate people who ask stupid questions about how its going to be paid for, it;s obvious other people should pay for us. Lets wack tax up and have a great health service, I really think we should have foot massages and free cappuccinos in NHS waiting rooms, there;s loads of money in the world just need to tax it from someone else.

[@micahr9255]

Look at ranked choice voting. It is a way of avoiding "diving the vote." You can pick an underdog without feeling like a "spoiler" because if your first choice is eliminated, you still have a second round in an instant runoff system. The only way for someone to win without a runoff is to receive over 50% in the first round. No more Amber Rudds winning with less then 50% of the vote in a four-party race. Check it out here: www.fairvote.org/rcv/#rcvbenefits

[@AndysBrainblog]

drinking game: drink every time Owen says "party".

[@sjenkin88]

Great interview.

[@peacefrog1916]

Scottish national paaaaaaaty.

[@orchalk]

That might be the first time I have ever watched an interview with Owen Jones that didn't use the Eamonn Holmes technique.

[@IWLTTFYBA]

Kasegi Yabu ........ Something tells me that the wages of the employees you are talking about, doesn't include the wages of the management, like the Directors and the Chairman. One rule for them another for the employees? Nowhere in your statement did you mention the Directors, always getting nice big pay rises and bonuses (thousands of shares). I have seen directors get big handouts even if the company has not done all that well. We are talking many millions of pounds here. The way you put it the whole problem is with the employees, my experience tells me poor productivity arises mostly from poor management of the workforce. Particularly if there is a lack of clear processes and procedures; plus a lack of appropriate training before the employee starts the job in hand. Poor management will get a company into hot water, a whole lot quicker than your "Lazy Employees" not working hard enough.

[@swisscottagecleanairaction]

Coulda woulda shoulda are the last word of a fool.

[@anarki777]

Par-tea (???)

[@glennzone12]

>UKIP >xenophobic Hahahahaha oh boy here we go

[@TheNovelty8theory]

Where does the illuminati fit into all of this??

[@Knappa22]

The withering , slightly despairing way he says 'Tessa Jowell' at 11:52 is the way *everyone* says Tessa Jowell!!

[@FrankLucas-pw5hs]

he's talking about the bias BBC media, and character assassinations using Ed as an example.. erhm, how about Nigel Garage lmao? I've heard so many call him a racist, sexist bigot, and yet nobody can give me a video where he says any racist or sexist remarks.. >

[@mrpoliticaltranslator4043]

Good points about them having used up the available currency of the centre-left though.

[@Viktors633]

Owen is worth a few quid.

[@Knappa22]

He says 'party' in a strange way. 'Paaart-thee'

[@karlmuller1976]

Karl Pilkington is a great interviewer!

[@hablerz]

I just came here to say how much i loathe Owen Jones.

[@richardmiller4521]

world getting dumb and dumber pointless talk getting no where

[@chatteyj]

Ukipxenophobic?Ihadtostopwatchingthere.Soirryspacebarnotworking.

[@mirandansa]

Nike...

[@Behindstage]

£12 hour min wage! in a ideal world maybe..honestly

[@dbec5224]

is this a channel for schoolkids

[@naughtybynatutrelove2love683]

GONNA BE FUN WATCHING THE LABOUR PARTY EAT ITSELF,,,,,LMFAO

[@thefalcon256]

How can anyone be for affordable housing and higher wages and at the same time support mass immigration and open borders? High demand = low wages and high property prices and high rents. Yes, you could tax the crap out of the richest people, but do that and most of them will just transfer their wealth abroad or move to a cheaper country, as they always do. I've asked this question 10 times already, I still can't get an answer.

[@greenactivist4187]

Parrdey

[@bungalows9564]

Jeremy Corbyn: a modest man with a lot to be modest about.

[@navillus15]

I stopped listening to him and was just waiting for the next weird "pauerty."

[@aidanlynam9655]

This Labour Leader contest is like the 'Special Olympics' of politics. Gorden Brown, Ed Miliband, - Who'll will be the next 'Leader of Lefty Idiots' ?

[@nestorsdragon8057]

#corbynisnotasocialist

[@waisislam6470]

Find out why Ken Livingstone endorses #Corbyn4Leader kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaTdYXuYaNaliNk

[@jillianbland]

Knob ed

[@garymarls]

Owen Jones hasn't got a clue - zero life experience...done nothing, and thinks he knows it all. Please Owen, start a business and show us how it's done - guarantee he'd be bankrupt in 2 mins

[@huolalupin6008]

Well-chosen setting for this silly interview.

[@politicalphilosophy-thegre3053]

*Utopia, by Thomas More* June, 1500 A.D University of Westminster Press 1.1.1 *Book I. Chapter 1. Section 1.* Politics in London- How A State Should Treat Its People 1.1.2 *Book I. Chapter 1. Section 2.* Paying The Populace Fairly 1.1.3 *Book II.Chapter 1. Section 3.* How English Taxes Should Be Organised 1.1.4 *Book II Chapter 2. Section 1.* Legal System 1.1.5 *Book II Chapter 2. Section 1.* Cooperative Labour and Rights 1.1.6 *Book III Chapter 2. Section 2.* Instruments of Justice 1.1.7 *Book III Chapter 2. Section 3.* Towards a New England 1.1.8 *Book III Chapter 2. Section 4.* Payments, Welfare And Reperations 1.1.9 *Book III Chapter 3. Section 1.* Salary of Peasants and Wayfarers 1.1.10 *Book III Chapter 3 .Section 2.* Education in the English Commonwealth

[@TheBrazilianEagle]

George Galloway for London Mayor.