Having been quite the fan of Owen Jones long before I even began training to become a journalist, it has to be said that I have never once considered him to be a magician.
But after looking back at one of his videos, released two days prior to the EU Referendum on Thursday, my suspicions were raised, as the political columnist and activist predicted pretty much every single thing that would happen following our decision to leave – which, yes, he also predicted.
I won’t try and spoil the video for you because essentially I couldn’t put it any better than Owen himself, but I will point out a number of key things that he predicted days before the referendum and got 100 per cent right.
Okay, so first off, Owen predicts that we will leave the EU. He argues that ‘undecided voters will be swayed by the leave campaign’. He then points out that usually, undecided voters will sway back to the status quo ‘unless the world has turned upside down’.
But with Donald Trump becoming Republican Presidential front-runner, Hillary Clinton enduring an incredibly tight battle against a socialist, Bernie Sanders, and Jeremy Corbyn attaining Labour leadership – I think it’s fair to say that the world has ‘turned upside down’.
He concludes that these facts merely point to a global ‘anti-establishment sentiment’ – while arguing that many will vote leave in an attempt to overthrow the establishment without understanding that by doing so, they are merely replacing Cameron and Osborne with the likes of Boris Johnson, Theresa May, Nigel Farage, and Michael Gove.
I know who I’d rather have in this battle between two evils…
To sum it up, he goes on to argue that following Brexit, the UK will see the resignation of David Cameron and George Osborne as the further right members of the Conservative Party take over.
Owen declares that Boris Johnson is perhaps the most popular politician in the country, and as a result of this popularity and sudden power, it will give politicians such as Boris and other right wing members of the Tory Party the chance to push through policies which they had always wanted to but were prevented from doing by the EU.
Owen then argues that there will be a Labour coup against Jeremy Corbyn which will give the impression that the Labour party is essentially falling apart while the new far-right Tories will appear prosperous, so that in the case of a likely early general election, ‘we can expect the Conservatives to win and win handsomely’.
Now, to prevent this article becoming a 3,000 word long essay explaining Owen’s fantastic points, theories, and predictions – most of which have already come true – I will merely break down the rest of his claims into a sizeable list.
Owen argues that in the aftermath of Brexit there will be an attack on the NHS, further tax avoidance now that the EU cannot regulate it, an attack on workers’ rights, an increase in extremism in Europe (which has already been seen by Marine Le Pen’s Front National’s increasing growth in France), as well as an economic breakdown.
He also claims that immigration in the UK will not decline in any noticeable way, as the majority of immigrants who travel to the UK come from outside of Europe anyhow.
He adds that there will be an age war between the young and the old, which is already evident all over social media.
Finally, he claims that there will be a split with Scotland [and Northern Ireland] as, having both voted in the masses to remain in the EU, the government’s decision to ignore their people’s votes will lead to national outrage and a fight for independence.
He concludes the nine-minute clip by saying:
Sometimes fear is scaremongering. But sometimes fear is realism in the fear of danger. And I can’t help but look at the future of this country and see many many grave dangers.
Boom! Owen Jones, ladies and gentleman. I could do with asking him to give me some betting tips.
