MORE than 200 people attended the Farnham Maltings last Friday to hear Owen Jones – the radical journalist and author of The Establishment: and How They get Away With It – respond to the views of Farnham’s own 19th century radical, William Cobbett, at the William Cobbett Society annual lecture.

Bernard Whelan played an impressive William Cobbett in a style appropriate to the age and the man – using a clear and witty script created by Luath Grant Ferguson to project Cobbett’s own words. Owen Jones responded in his own fluent and persuasive style to the issues raised.

As anti-establishment leaders of their different ages there were powerful similarities between their views on the poor, bankers, the media and foreign wars. After 200 years of progress we still seem to have the poor (paupers then, the underclass now) suffering because of faults in the way society is organised.

Bankers, supported by the State, still seem to profit while others suffer. The media is still largely controlled by the rich and influenced too much by those at the top of society. And Britain’s leaders have not lost their appetite for foreign wars (India then, Iraq now).

Powerful quotes from Cobbett - “To be poor and independent is well nigh an impossibility” and “the power of money is the power of the bludgeon and the bayonet” – were followed by a passionate and informed critique by Owen Jones of today’s problems.

There were some areas where Cobbett’s views did not readily match a 20th century or left wing analysis. Cobbett had no problem with the rich as long as, ‘noblesse oblige’, they looked after their people, and Cobbett had a real hatred of the system of credit (paper money) and a large national debt (paid off, he saw, by taxes on the poor paying interest to the rich). It would have been interesting to hear Owen Jones pick up on these differences.

Owen Jones did, however, partly in response to questions from the audience, add persuasive and heartfelt views on the increasing disadvantages facing the young (for example through tuition fees and house prices) and commented on how much still needed to be done to improve the position of women in society.

Richard Thomas, chairman of the William Cobbett Society, did an excellent job managing Cobbett, Owen Jones and the audience – as well as coping with the impressive use of technology, set up by the Maltings and UCA together, to ‘stream’ the event from the Tindle room to 100 people in the Barley room.

It was also broadcast on YouTube and the internet, where the proceedings can still be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=7arAkKag_Nc. It will soon be available on the William Cobbett website at www.williamcobbett.org.uk