Owen Jones Banned From Labour Conference

Quick Overview

The Labour Party cancelled Owen Jones's conference pass due to alleged complaints about his conduct, which he dismissed as "Trumpian behaviour" for suppressing questions about Britain facilitating Israel's genocide, while Novara Media reporter Rivkah Brown, whose pass was also cancelled, posted footage of her interaction and stated she was not screaming, countering the reason given by Labour Conference Services for her exclusion.

Key Points: Owen Jones's Labour Party Conference pass was cancelled following complaints about his conduct, which he called "pathetic, Trumpian behaviour" for suppressing questions about the Gaza genocide. Rivkah Brown, a Novara Media reporter, also had her application to the Labour Party Annual Conference cancelled due to an alleged breach of the event code of conduct. Brown shared footage of her intervention showing her questioning Labour MP Joani Reid about why Hamas was included in a motion about the Gaza genocide as an example of "casual antisemitism," calling the situation "defamatory." Joani Reid, APPG Antisemitism chair, responded on X, claiming Brown was not present until the end and attended only for the "specific purpose of haranguing me," adding that she "had never even heard of her until she started screaming at me." Brown countered Reid's claim by stating, "And we have footage of my intervention, there was no screaming," suggesting Labour politicians operate under Chatham House rules to avoid confronting critics. The video contrasts Jones's account of being silenced for asking tough questions with Reid's claim that Brown was aggressively harassing her, emphasizing the differing narratives surrounding the conference access denials. The host notes that both Jones and Brown have a history of holding politicians to account, suggesting the actions against them are politically motivated rather than purely based on safeguarding concerns.

Context: The video discusses the fallout after political commentator Owen Jones and Novara Media reporter Rivkah Brown had their access passes revoked for the Labour Party Annual Conference in September 2025. The Labour Party cited complaints about conduct, specifically mentioning safeguarding issues, while Jones and Brown publicly contested this, framing the action as an attempt to silence criticism regarding the party's stance on the Gaza conflict.