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.

12 October 2018

Economy, Business & Finance

200,000 more people in work under Universal Credit? The government can’t know the answer

By Joseph O’Leary • 5 mins

The National Audit Office says the government will never be able to measure whether Universal Credit leads to 200,000 more people in work. Read

Fact checks

14 September 2018

Economy, Business & Finance

How many people on zero hours contracts want more hours?

By Claire Milne and Joseph O’Leary • 3 mins

Around 780,000 people were estimated to be on zero hours contracts in mid-2018. Read

Fact checks

21 August 2018

Health

Could ‘opt-out’ organ donation save 700 lives a year?

By Joseph O’Leary • 9 mins

Organ transplants could soon be an ‘opt out’ system in England, but there’s limited evidence for how effective the change will be. Read

Fact checks

25 July 2018

Economy, Business & Finance

How the jobs market for young people has changed since 2010

By Joseph O’Leary • 3 mins

Youth unemployment has fallen in the last eight years, and young people stay on in full time education more than they used to. Read

Fact checks

13 July 2018

Europe

The UK is one of the biggest contributors to the EU budget

By Joseph O’Leary • 2 mins

The UK has been the third or fourth largest contributing country to the EU budget in recent years, and of the 28 member states is one of 10 to contribute more than it gets back in receipts. Read

Fact checks

6 July 2018

Economy, Business & Finance

Is Universal Credit driving people to food banks?

By Joseph O’Leary • 5 mins

Trussell Trust research shows increases in food bank use in areas where Universal Credit has been rolled out. It’s difficult to measure the extent that one is causing the other. Read

Fact checks

29 June 2018

Economy, Business & Finance

Did Labour leave a £38 billion black hole in defence spending?

By Joseph O’Leary • 3 mins

An eight year-old claim about defence funding still hasn’t been fully substantiated. Read

Fact checks

22 June 2018

Health

The latest plans for NHS England spending outstrip both main parties’ manifesto pledges

By Joseph O’Leary • 3 mins

Neither Labour nor the Conservatives’ NHS funding pledges at the last election were as big as the government's latest announcement. The NHS is still set to get less per year than it has historically. Read