Aaron Bastani

Following Professor Jason Arday's death, Bastani publicly apologised for previously describing him as a 'conman' and attacking a lecture video. He stated that he had made a professional mistake and had seriously failed ethically.

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Palestinian writer and activist Mohammed El-Kurd challenged Novara Media's handling of his interview, with his concerns focusing particularly on a tweet published by Bastani on 14 October 2023. At El-Kurd's request, Novara removed the interview from its channels in March 2024; El-Kurd subsequently demanded an apology.

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Novara Media acknowledged that a video published in April 2024 had baselessly described Gary Lubner as an 'apartheid profiteer' and falsely alleged that Gary and Jack Lubner had close connections with the Israeli government. The organisation removed the video, apologised and made substantial charitable donations.

Bastani left Labour in February 2021. The Jewish Chronicle reported, citing party sources, that he had been alerted to an investigation into allegations of misconduct before his departure.

YouTube removed Novara Media's channel without warning before swiftly reinstating it following considerable public mobilisation. The affair fuelled debate about large platforms' discretionary power over political media.

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In 'Fully Automated Luxury Communism', Bastani advocates a vision of post-work abundance enabled by automation, renewable energy and the social ownership of key resources. The book prompted debate over economic realism, technological optimism and the political feasibility of the programme.

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Against the backdrop of Labour's antisemitism crisis and the IHRA definition, Bastani described Jonathan Sacks as a 'right-wing ultra-nationalist' and suggested that Jeremy Corbyn's team should have examined the backgrounds of the 68 rabbis who had signed a critical letter. His remarks prompted accusations of using antisemitic tropes.

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Bastani described the Poppy Appeal as 'grotesque', associating it with triumphalist militarism that could, in his view, be 'racist' and 'white supremacist', and argued that the Royal British Legion should radically transform itself or dissolve. Political figures, including shadow Defence Secretary Nia Griffith, condemned his remarks.

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Following the 2017 general election, Aaron Bastani was identified by The Independent as the first prominent account to circulate on Twitter the claim that Labour had gained 150,000 new members. The party said it did not recognise the figure; an email from Jeremy Corbyn's office referred instead to more than 15,000 new memberships.

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