James Schneider
James Schneider is the co-founder of the left wing grassroots movement Momentum and was appointed as an advisor to leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, taking the role of Director of Strategic Communications, a role he has held since October 2016.[1][2] Schneider sees himself as an intermediary between the old Labour left and the newer, post-financial crisis left. He has said that he has read Marxist sociologist Ralph Miliband and "learned from his critiques", but states that the academic was "writing in a different moment of history".[3]
Early life and career
Schneider was educated at the Dragon School and Winchester College and later attended Trinity College, Oxford at the University of Oxford to study Theology. While at Oxford, he was president of the Oxford University Liberal Democrats.[4][5]
He joined Think Africa Press in 2010, a role he held until he became the senior correspondent at New African in 2014. He has described his work at Think Africa Press as formative, as he began to look at local issues using ideas that were critical of capitalism and imperialism.[3] Schneider joined the Labour Party in May 2015 after the defeat of Ed Miliband and Labour in the 2015 General Election. [6] He helped to co-found the left-wing grassroots movement Momentum in October 2015 as a support group for Jeremy Corbyn who had been elected Labour leader the previous month.[7] The group also played a significant role in the 2016 campaign to reelect Corbyn after a leadership challenge. Schneider was appointed as Director of Strategic Communications for the office of Jeremy Corbyn in October 2016.[8][9]
Personal life
He is the son of Brian Schneider, who was chief executive of property company OEM plc before his death in 2004,[10] and Tessa Lang, a London-based property consultant.[11]
Schneider describes himself as "culturally Jewish".[12]
References
- ^ "This is how Jeremy Corbyn's team believes he can still become UK prime minister".
- ^ "The fight of his life: on the road with Jeremy Corbyn". The Guardian. 2 June 2017.
- ^ a b https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/10/momentum-labour-party-corbyn-uk/
- ^ Wilkes, David; Martin, Daniel (21 April 2017). "From a £7million home to being Corbyn's new election guru". Daily Mail. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- ^ Gilligan, Andrew (13 December 2015). "James Schneider: face of Momentum activists - with education and childhood home 'paid for by fraud'". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- ^ Bennett, Owen (20 October 2015). "Momentum Is Not A 'Shadowy' Group With A 'Hit List' Of Labour MPs, Says Leading Organiser". HuffPost UK.
- ^ "Maintaining Momentum". Jacobin. October 2016.
- ^ "Jeremy Corbyn set to get extra media help - but not from Paul Mason". Total Politics. 14 October 2016.
- ^ Long, Camilla (23 April 2017). "Corbyn's posh boys can't crush 'the elite'". The Times. Retrieved 3 September 2017. (subscription required)
- ^ "OEM shareholder face cash call | London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. 30 July 2004. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
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(help) - ^ Wilkes, David (21 April 2017). "It's Corbyn's new election guru James Schneider | Daily Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
- ^ "The Jewish Labour Gurus Striving to Turn Jeremy Corbyns Reputation Around". Haaretz newspaper. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2018.