Speakers
Owen Jones, political commentator and author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class
After the Backlash: The Summer Riots and the Right
Thursday 8th December 2011
Owen Jones is a writer, political commentator and activist. Previously working for a number of trade unions and Labour MPs, he is the author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class. His work has been published in The Guardian’s Comment Is Free, The Morning Star, Liberal Conspiracy, LabourList, Left Futures, and Open Democracy. He is a regular guest on BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show, and has appeared on Newsnight, The Big Questions and Channel 4's 10 O’Clock Live.
In his lecture, Owen discusses the 2011 Summer Riots, which traumatised communities across England. He argues the backlash was manipulated by right-wing commentators keen to emphasise the existence of a ‘feral underclass’ and that the concept of an ‘undeserving poor’ was escalated into something bigger and more dangerous – that the poor are, in some respects, sub-human. He puts forward that the riots were apparent proof that Britain perceives itself to be middle-class, apart from a dysfunctional rump defined by its behavioural problems. What did this backlash say about modern Britain? And can we really hope to understand the reality of the Summer riots?
Follow Owen on Twitter at @OwenJones84
- Arrival – 5:30
- Lecture – 6:30
- Drinks and networking – 7:30