Feb 28, 2019

Owen Jones Unpersons Chris Williamson

Kit Knightly

UPDATE & CORRECTION: Owen has claimed he changed the article in question some time before the expulsion of Williamson. We have now checked his claim on the Wayback Machine and it appears to be true.

Chris Williamson should never have been suspended from the Labour Party – he should never have been rebuked or chastised for his words at Sheffield. He told the truth, and those who have deliberately taken his words out of context to vilify him in smug, dishonest editorials, have a political axe to grind that is nothing to do with genuine antisemitism.

This should be the position of everyone on the left who has a genuine interest in a socialist Labour government. Sadly, it is not.

Williamson has been thrown under the bus. Ritually sacrificed. That New Labour climbers like Tom Watson, and braying media whores like Rachel Riley, play an active role in this surprises nobody. Their glee is as evident as it is toxic. But the betrayal from those who are notionally Corbyn supporters is equally foul.

Owen Jones took to twitter to virtue-signal away, and celebrate LAbour making the “right decision”, whilst decrying those on the left who were angry about it.

But then he went even further, too. He full-on 1984ed the man. Shoved him head-first down the Memory Hole: This was brought to our attention on twitter:

@georgegalloway Seen this? Bendy Bones Jones wrote a Medium piece in support of Chris Williamson and others but has just edited it to remove @DerbyChrisW name.
With friends like these… pic.twitter.com/I77e5rBL3x

— Two Flames (@msjenniferjames) February 28, 2019

It is totally accurate.

In April last year Jones posted an article to his medium account, headlined “Delegitimising the British left”, it contained this paragraph:

Now, forget that left-wing politicians — Chris Williamson, Laura Pidcock and Clive Lewis among them — are subjected to relentless online pile-ons from both Tory and Labour MPs and hostile commentators.

It now, contains this parapgraph:

Now, forget that left-wing politicians — Laura Pidcock and Clive Lewis among them — are subjected to relentless online pile-ons from both Tory and Labour MPs and hostile commentators.

For anyone doubting us, here is the current version, and here is a archived version from last year.

Owen removed Williamson’s name. He did this within 24 hours of the man’s suspension.

It doesn’t really matter how the removal came about. The question isn’t “Why?”, we know why.

The far more troubling question is “How far will this neo-Stalinism go?”