Owen Jones: “You Shouldn’t Vote Labour”

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Leftwing journalist Owen Jones has made headlines today literally and is trending on many social media platforms by announcing that he’s leaving the labor party after 24 years I’ve always been a labor guy my family’s been labor for Generations I joined the party at the age of 15 and I voted for them under

Every single leader in the 21 years of my adult life but for me the part is over and I’ve just quit and now I think it’s time for us to vote green or independent unless you still got a labor MP who offers an actual alternative to the catastrophic Tory policies which

Have brought this country to the edge of ruin the Tories are toast you can send labor a message without risking them sneaking back in now they’ll try and spook you into thinking despite the Tories having comprehensively nuked themselves you’ve got to vote labor or you’ll just let the toes back in don’t

Believe them they’re just after a big majority so they’ve got absolute power and they can do anything they want and no one can stop them you can’t trust them with that power look how they keep purging their opponents boasting of blackmailing the Speaker of the House of Commons to overturn parliamentary

Protocols to get their own way look personally I’m scared of what they’ll do with the power that a whopping big majority will give them if we don’t get our act together when it all ends in tears for starers labor and when they’re in government believe me it will the far

Right will be waiting in the wings instead the Tories are toast we deserve better end the war and hope send labor a message let’s do do this right so didn’t want to just give Owen a free advert for his campaign we have actually asked him some pretty hard-hitting questions when

Earlier today I caught up with him about this new campaign we deserve better I for a long time I’ve been thinking of um ending the increasingly toxic relationship I have with the labor party um but I spoke to various people they thought if I was going to leave then I

Might as well do something with it and lots of them were thinking about the idea of you know how do you build pressure on the labor party um in the electoral system that we have given the pressure that’s coming on it um which it very willingly Embraces is pressure from

The right um and what came up in those conversations is why not something which raises money for independent candidates green party candidates um as well as if they’ll take the money or allowed to take the money without being kicked out of the labor party um Labor candidates

Who still stand for things like taxing the rich to invest in public services public ownership and not slaughtering thousands of innocent people in Palestine um and from that came the idea of we deserve better H so it’s not my campaign I’m not a leader um I can

Barely time AO laces that’s probably not a good idea um but that’s bringing together lots of activists from across the movement um including counselors who’ve left the labor party peace activists climate activists so for example will Fatima from a green New Deal Rising is involved they’re already doing their own strategizing to raise

Money and resources for candidates like Jamie dull in the northeast of former labor cand sorry current a current mayor who labor banned from standing for the new Northeast combined Authority and the idea of it is at the moment people think look not happy about labor but what what

Do we do now and this is trying to say look we a green candidates who stand for things like public ownership taxing the rich taking on the climate emergency there independent candidates organically coming out of communities and there are still good people on the lb P you don’t have to

Choose youve spoken a bit today actually I’ll ask you a different question first what was your red line when it came to your lifelong support of Labor and deciding to leave the party isel’s genocide in Gaza no question um what that did is turn what I think is a labor

Leadership which got there through dishonesty and K farmer clearly made a series of extremely dishonest commitments from public ownership to taxing the rich investing in public services scrapping tuition fees we really could go on it’s quite a long list um in order to you know accept things like continuity austerity slash

Andb burn cuts which have led this country to disaster um as well as I don’t know take child poverty for example e new labor had policies on tackling the crisis of child poverty wasn’t enough but the minimum wage was something tax credits was something these these people support the two child

Benefit cap which drives 250,000 kids into poverty and 850,000 PE children further into poverty so they they don’t even have that competitiv that’s bad enough but what takes what I think is a disgrace on domestic policy into abject moral disgrace is the fact at the very beginning Kama said he supported the

Right of Israel to cut off water and energy to a civilian population um then sent Shadow ministers on television to back that morally depraved position and I think that position is sick by the way he’s a human rights liw who understands the Geneva Convention he knows what article 33 says

On Collective punishment I told Emily Thor local MP at the time that I wasn’t going to vote for her that was back in October so clearly I’ve been thinking about this for a while um I couldn’t I wouldn’t be able to do that I think war crimes collected supporting what at the

Beginning was clear from the genocidal statements of Israeli leaders I called them genocidal on the 9th of October two days after this horror began I think it was very clear what was going to happen I don’t think I’m AE I’m a prophet I don’t think I had extreme special

Insight um I just listened to what Israeli leaders said and they followed What to the letter what they said they were going to do labor back to that they legitimized it and they’re unfit for office of course I can’t support something like that I think it would be you know

Grotesque you said you’re not in charge of this new campaign but do you know if there’s going to be any similar red lines in the politicians that will be allocated funds from this war chest you know for example Independents like George Galloway very Pro Palestine preaches an economically redistributive

Agenda but also on the flip side uh use like an extensive amount of transphobic language in the campaign materials he was giving out like where are the red lines going to be when we’re dealing with these new independent candidates some of who really mix up what political ideologies they follow it’s not just

Transphobia the part of George Gallow is it um it’s on a whole range of issues I mean discuss it talking about refugees being men of fighting age his language around dreaming gangs um when he attacks the Scottish first Minister h Yousef in a tweet he said you’re not Scottish like

Me you’re not Celtic like me what you’re supposed to do with that kind of language um he claims the 2020 he suggested you know he’s open to the idea of the 2020 presidential election being rigged by the Democrats he um you should condemn Joe Biden for supporting genocide and war crimes

Doesn’t mean you give into trumpian conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and also for talking about foreign policy in terms of consistency very much opposed any Western military involvement in Syria that doesn’t mean that I turned a blind eye to the horrors Unleashed by Assad against Muslim innocent civilians so I think

Consistency on human rights internationally um and not giving into bigoted views about minorities trans people I think is is a very striking example so yeah I think the the red line I don’t think is a you know it’s not easy to come up with the so it’s not

It’s not it’s not a problem or difficult to come up with these red lines consistency which is you stand always against prejudice against all minorities you stand up for all minorities uh irrespective and um you consistently stand for human rights at home and abroad um you know I don’t think George

Galloway’s left wing I know gonna annoy some people listening to this but taking a good stand on Gaza which he has doesn’t in any way um you know compensate for his views elsewhere which is why I think this is important because we need you know independent candidates um who are rooted in their

Community and at the moment Galloway’s filled that vacuum hasn’t it he’s there because there isn’t something like this to help support and fund independent candidates so I’m hoping you know we’ll have people for example used to be in the labor by like Jamie drisol and also lean Muhammad who’s a British

Palestinian woman who’s standing against where streeting in in ilford Andre Feinstein who’s standing um against K starma himself who’s a former ANC politician and the of Holocaust Survivors so I I think it’s not it’s it’s very straightforward to come up those red lines but has that been agreed

To by the Coalition behind we deserve better has that already been discussed as something that will be stuck to when allocating These funds yes absolutely that’s something which um those who have been involved have all discussed and and and agreed you know there’s a there’s a huge range of independent and green

Candidates they’re going to be backing I mean an obvious one is when jery Corin ends up standing um which I think is very likely he hasn’t announced it but I’d be extremely surprised if he doesn’t given local party members in nlon north have been denied their Democratic rights

By the party leadership their right to choose their candidate and they would overwhelmingly choose Jamie Corbin you know Dian AA if she’s not allowed to stand um you know she’s someone who should be supported if she went on to become an independent candidate if the labor party refused to allow local

Members in haty north and state newon to vote for that so it’s not you know there’s no shortage of these candidates so I think there’s a whole range of them but the Coalition would immediately fall part if Galloway IES George Galloway type candidates were were backed of you

Know the green party wouldn’t be involved in something like that for a start um I think it’s important to have that consistency this isn’t quite tactical voting it’s more like tactical funding but you’ve still been hit by lots of accusations today that you’re essentially helping the Tories with this

How do you respond to those there is more chance of one of my cats becoming Supreme emperor of the universe then the conserva winning the next general election it’s not going to happen the Tories have destroyed themselves so see simulated just one of the scandals I suppose scandals euphemistic uh that they’ve been

Embroiled in would be sufficient to finish off a normal political party uh party gate being one um the worst squeezing living standards um on record uh collapsing National Health Service and general public realm just being in power for that long being intellectually politically exhausted because they’ve gone through so many iterations and

Every single one has failed um but obviously for me you know what clearly destroyed the conservatives was the Liz Tross experiment people didn’t like her policies they objected them overwhelmingly and they objectional policies crashed the economy and sent rents and mortgages spiking and after that the elector decided it doesn’t

Matter what you say or do we’re not listening and we’re not going to vote for you anymore that was the end of the conservative rule which is why now in the latest poll they’re looking like they’re going to get overtaken by reform even if they claw back some support

Given an election is likely in either October or November in fact inevitable in October November and we’re now in March the is no way in hell they could possibly win and you’re right if this was a close run election I don’t think something like this would be seen as

Possible because too many people would go look in and in people of my perspective see where you’re coming from don’t like these guys either but we’ve got to get the conservatives out so the reassurance the me what the the tagline of a campaign is the Tories are toast

Let’s send labor a message if you vote green or independent um you’re not going to let the conservatives win another term in office it’s ‘s absolutely no chance of that happening and the Really fundamental point is you are going to be spooked into thinking that by labor and

Their client journalists but they don’t believe it the reason they’re saying it is because they want the absolute power of an overwhelming majority and you’ve seen how they behave with dis a dissent in their own party they have very cynically and fractionally used for example uh the issues of racism where

They protect those um who support K St who make anti-semitic remarks and then cynically for example Purge likes of leftwing um Kate oore one of the only black female um labor MPS uh for saying what’s happening in gaz’s genocide on the day the international court of justice puts Israel on trial for Gen

Alleged genocide they we saw what they did to the speaker the other week that their own people certainly briefed uh BBC News Knight’s political editor that the speaker had crushed the snp’s collective punishment this saying Israel is responsible for Collective punishment because he’d been told that the labor

Wouldn’t let him become speaker again if they get a majority which they will you can’t trust them with that power these people are power mad they’re authoritarian they’re intolerant of descent um and the only reason they’re trying to Spook people into thinking the Tories will win which they absolutely

Know there’s no chance of happening whatsoever is because they just crave a massive majority and believe you me they will use that majority to use this machinery of states for factional Revenge that’s the sort of people they are they will clamp down the right to

Protest they will find ways of um of of of using the state to come down hard on anything associated with the left five years ago we were pleading with various center right figures to stop writing op heads about why they were leaving the labor party and why Jeremy Corbin and

His front bench were the worst things that could ever possibly happen to this country is we deserve better a continuation of that cycle from faction to faction or is it an attempt to break it I think the very clear difference is those um on the right of the labor party

Are I think the most effective cry bullies in British political history in in that they spent years going oh Jamie Corbin’s the coming of next coming of Stalin look how totalitarian and tolerant he is he’s crushing us he did no such thing obviously he started with the shadow cabinet Pack full of people

Who opposed him and then they resigned on mass um and then he continually appointed people from the whole length and breadth of the labor party including K sta who’s a shadow brexit secretary so he put people in place who knew didn’t support him from all wings of the Labour

Party now I think a lot of people would say he was too lenient I think we in hindsight people would that’s what people would argue wouldn’t they he didn’t Purge a single MP not a single MP got deselected as Jer gin you had for for months I remember because I had to

Keep going on television about it um a national news story which has seen as like a a national Scandal about a few counselors counselors getting selected in Haring so the point I’m making is there was no reign of terror under Jam M Corin actually it was a broad church and

They were allowed to constantly attack and brief him with no action of any description taken against them this on the other hand is the most authoritarian leadership in the history of the labor bike don’t listen to me listen to John crudus who is a MP from the middle of

The party who used to be an adviser to Tony Blair and he said this is the most illiberal faction in labor party’s history you in charge and they want to power they obiously you know they they’re they’re they’re you know they they have the most authoritarian

Leadership in in history so I think the point of making is I’ve supported labor in the past when they’ve done terrible things people have completely correctly just go why why are we backing labor then under X Y or Z then when they’re doing terrible things because the

Difference is now firstly the nature of the crisis enveloping Britain in terms of austerity they’re going to continue that that in my view means the far right are going to stand benefit so unless we do something now given labor going to continue those policies the far right

Will end up benefiting so we have to do it whether we like it or not that’s my own view but the other is um there’s no way back as things stand without external pressure if people think labor might change in the future which is I think a legitimate perspective it’ll

Only happen with external pressure otherwise they will just Purge everybody on the left which is what they’re doing they’re making a hostile environment for anyone to the left of Peter mandelson where can people find out more about we deserve better go to we deserve better. UK um and it’s really simple at the

Moment what you do is you donate whatever money you you you want you can and there’s a cost living crisis it’s only if people can and that money will then go to the likes of lean Muhammad um who’s standing in ilford against West streeting who the shallow Health

Secretary who boasts of um how he’s going to increase privatization of the National Health Service um or it will go to for example Carlo denier brilliant green candidate standing against Stam deaner in Bristol Central with polling suggesting she could win well with more funding I’m sure that makes it more

Likely Jamie Driscoll former labor mayor of North time now standing for the Northeast combined uh Authority his elections in may he needs all the support um he we can he can get so all you do is you just either donate uh if you can at the very least put in your

Details because the other part of this is to get people going if they’re nearby putting your details then you’ll be people can be sent information about how you can campaign how you can you know give up some time knock on doors if you’re able to do so it’s really simple

At the moment you know and I think you know we’ll see what happens when stars in power I see this as a trial run myself it’s laying foundations it’s limited and in terms of what he can achieve with an election so close but there’s all these brilliant candidates

Now and you don’t have to choose between the green party or the independence you can just give some money and it will be a portioned uh to candidates you won’t agree with them and everything but you’ll agree with them a lot more than you agree with the labor leadership and

It will put pressure on labor it puts we’ve already seen West racing obviously quite spooked by the support leam Muhammad’s gang and that’s why he started changing his R Kaza it’ll scare them and it’ll put pressure on them and it just you know it’s two quid or three

Quid it makes a difference and it’ll go to candidates who need it and um as I say either you put pressure on them or the hard right of British politics will keep putting pressure on them and labor will gladly keep shifting towards them it’s a TR