Joseph O’Leary

Training Manager

Joe has been fact checking UK politics and policy for over a decade, having joined the team in 2011. He has delivered training in fact checking to civil servants, statisticians, journalists and businesses, both in the UK and internationally, as well as designing accredited courses in data analysis for the FE sector. Joe also enjoys teaching critical thinking in primary and secondary schools, and regularly gives talks to journalism students. He is now designing courses to help businesses and employees use data with more confidence.

20 October 2014

Immigration

Factcheck: One million more migrants expected to come to London by 2030

By Joseph O’Leary • 2 mins

"British politicians need to be bolder in confronting some of the myths about immigration". So said the Times (£) last week in a leader article calling for politicians to confront … Read

Fact checks

15 October 2014

Economy, Business & Finance

Factcheck: The minimum wage has not been going up in real terms

By Joseph O’Leary • 2 mins

"the minimum wage under this Government is going up, and going up in real terms" David Cameron, Prime Minister's Questions, 15 October 2014 Amidst yesterday's furore over comments made by … Read

Fact checks

7 August 2014

Economy, Business & Finance

Will Labour's spending plans add £500 billion to the national debt?

By Joseph O’Leary • 4 mins

The Conservatives have claimed Labour's spending plans after the election mean a public debt £500 billion higher than it would be under their plans. But this is based on a stream of assumptions that c Read

Fact checks

17 July 2014

Crime

London isn't 'propping up' falling crime in England and Wales

By Joseph O’Leary • 4 mins

The Times and Mail reported last week that crime figures were expected to show London propping up the rest of the country. The figures are now out, and they don't. Read

Fact checks

16 July 2014

Economy, Business & Finance

More young people live with their parents, but housing costs are only one reason

By Joseph O’Leary • 3 mins

The Labour leader claims one in four young people live with their parents because they can't buy or rent a home. But the reasons why people live at home aren't as simple as this. Read

Fact checks

14 July 2014

Economy, Business & Finance

Prime Minister repeats uncertain £38 billion defence budget 'black hole'

By Joseph O’Leary • 1 min

The Prime Minister said this morning that, as part of the government's plan to tackle the deficit, it had seen off a £38 billion 'black hole' in the defence budget. … Read

Fact checks

26 June 2014

Education

Abuse in England's schools not as frequent as suggested

By Joseph O’Leary • 2 mins

The OECD has released figures on teachers' experience in the classroom, but there's been some confusion over the prevalence of abuse they're getting. Read

Fact checks

18 June 2014

Crime

How overcrowded are prisons in England and Wales?

By Joseph O’Leary • 4 mins

As the Chief Inspector of prisons criticises the current lack of resources in the Prison Service, we take a look at the numbers behind the story. Read

Fact checks

16 June 2014

Economy, Business & Finance

Is Chinese investment into the UK at record levels?

By Joseph O’Leary • 4 mins

The BBC claims Chinese investment into the UK is at record levels, but what evidence are they using? Read

Fact checks

13 June 2014

Europe

Is Wales getting the best deal out of the EU?

By Amy Sippitt, Joseph O’Leary • 4 mins

It was claimed on last week's Question Time that unlike the UK, Wales is a net beneficiary of the EU. But it's not as straightforward a calculation. Read

Fact checks