Simon Heffer | |
|---|---|
| Born | Simon James Heffer (1960-07-18)18 July 1960 (age 65) Chelmsford,Essex, England |
| Education | King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford |
| Alma mater | Corpus Christi College, Cambridge |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Simon James Heffer (born 18 July 1960) is an Englishhistorian,journalist,author and political commentator. He has published severalbiographies and a series of books on the social history of Great Britain from the mid-nineteenth century until the end of theFirst World War. He was appointed professorial research fellow at theUniversity of Buckingham in 2017.
He worked as a columnist for theDaily Mail and since 2015 has had a weekly column inThe Sunday Telegraph. As a political commentator, Heffer takes asociallyconservative position.
Heffer was born inChelmsford,Essex, and was educated there atKing Edward VI Grammar School before going to read English atCorpus Christi College,Cambridge (MA); after he had become a successful journalist and author, his old university awarded him aPhD in History for his 1998biography ofEnoch Powell.[1]
Heffer worked forThe Daily Telegraph until 1995. He worked as a columnist for theDaily Mail from 1995 to 2005. He rejoined theTelegraph in October 2005 as a columnist and associate editor.Martin Newland, theDaily Telegraph's editor at the time, described the newspaper as Heffer's "natural journalistic home".[2] He left theTelegraph in May 2011 to "pursue a role in journalism and broadcasting" and "complete a major literary project".[3] It had been speculated that his departure had been prompted by his constant attacks onDavid Cameron's government, of which theTelegraph had been generally supportive.[4] Heffer later rejoined theDaily Mail to edit a new online comment section, called RightMinds, of the paper's online edition.[5][6] He returned to theDaily Telegraph in June 2015 and has a weekly column in theSunday Telegraph.[7]
Heffer has written biographies of the historian and essayistThomas Carlyle and the composerRalph Vaughan Williams. His 1998 biography of the British politicianEnoch Powell,Like the Roman, was described by theNew Statesman as "a lucid and majestic tribute" to the politician.[8][9] He received his PhD in Modern History fromCambridge University for the Powell biography.[10]
In September 2010, Heffer publishedStrictly English: the Correct Way to Write... and Why it Matters, a guide toEnglish grammar and usage. The book met with some negative reception.[11] Since 2010 he has published several historical works such asA Short History of Power (2010) and a series of three books on the social history of Great Britain from the mid nineteenth century until the end of the First World War:High Minds: the Victorians and the Birth of Modern Britain (2013),The Age of Decadence: Britain 1880 to 1914 andStaring at God: Britain 1914 to 1919 (2019).
Heffer became a professorial research fellow at theUniversity of Buckingham in 2017.[10]
Heffer said in 2012 that he wrote the first draft of aSpectator editorial in 2004 regarding the death ofKenneth Bigley, which said in part:
The extreme reaction to Mr Bigley's murder is fed by the fact that he was a Liverpudlian.Liverpool is a handsome city with a tribal sense of community. A combination of economic misfortune – its docks were, fundamentally, on the wrong side of England when Britain entered what is now the European Union – and an excessive predilection for welfarism have created a peculiar, and deeply unattractive, psyche among many Liverpudlians. They see themselves whenever possible as victims, and resent their victim status; yet at the same time they wallow in it. ... They cannot accept that they might have made any contribution to their misfortunes, but seek rather to blame someone else for it, thereby deepening their sense of shared tribal grievance against the rest of society. The deaths of more than 50Liverpool football supportersat Hillsborough in 1989 was undeniably a greater tragedy than the single death, however horrible, of Mr Bigley; but that is no excuse for Liverpool's failure to acknowledge, even to this day, the part played in the disaster by drunken fans at the back of the crowd who mindlessly tried to fight their way into the ground that Saturday afternoon. The police became a convenientscapegoat, andThe Sun newspaper a whipping-boy for daring, albeit in a tasteless fashion, to hint at the wider causes of the incident.[12]
These comments (sometimes incorrectly attributed to the then-editor of theSpectator,Boris Johnson) were widely circulated following the April 2016 verdict bythe Hillsborough inquest's second hearing provingunlawful killing of the 96 dead at Hillsborough.[13] Johnson apologised at the time of the publication, saying: "That was a lie that unfortunately and very, very regrettably got picked up in a leader in theSpectator in 2004, which I was then editing."[14]
Heffer waspolitically left-wing in his teenage years, but had abandoned his views by the time he went to university, although he states he still has a lingering respect and affection for several past figures of the left, such asMichael Foot andTony Benn.[15]
Heffer is a social conservative, though in a 2006 interview he described himself as a Gladstonian Liberal. He supported the retention ofSection 28, and opposed the equalisation of theage of consent, as well as theliberalisation of laws on abortion and divorce.[16] He opposed the removal ofhereditary peers from theHouse of Lords in 1999.[17]
Heffer believes thatChristianity should have a strong role in shaping the moral foundations of society and public policy, but he is personally anatheist.[18]
In 2008 Heffer called for theUnited Nations to be strengthened: "If the UN ceases to be regarded by the larger powers as an institution to secure the peace of the world and justice therein, then that holds out all sorts of potential dangers."[19] On 27 May 2009 Heffer threatened to stand as an independent againstSir Alan Haselhurst,[20] his local Conservative MP and a deputy speaker, unless Haselhurst paid back the £12,000 he claimed for work on his garden, as revealed in theParliamentary expenses scandal.[21] A month later Haselhurst announced that he would pay the £12,000 back, while insisting that it had been claimed within the rules.[22]
In 2010 Heffer criticised the then Prime Minister,David Cameron, and modernising elements within the Conservative Party.[23][24]
Heffer has written sympathetically about and backed theUnited Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) andNigel Farage.[25] He supported theUK's withdrawal from the EU in theBrexit referendum. In an article in theDaily Telegraph Heffer suggested that some of those who supported Britain remaining in the European Union were members of theBilderberg Group and attendees of theWorld Economic Forum atDavos.[26] From 2016 to 2019, he was part of the political advisory board ofLeave Means Leave.[27]
Heffer married his wife Diana in 1987.[28] He has two children and lives inGreat Leighs, nearChelmsford.[29][obsolete source] He is a director of theLondon Chorus (London Choral Society) and was previously director of the Elgar Foundation.[30]
 |
| Year | Review article | Work(s) reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Heffer, Simon (21 November 2014)."The Unfinished Battles of Waterloo".New Statesman.143 (5237):44–45. |
|
The expense claims I made over recent years have been strictly in accordance with Parliamentary rules… However, my claim for gardening help has caused concern. Out of respect to my constituents I am this week repaying the sum of £12,000.
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Deputy Editor ofThe Daily Telegraph 1994–1995 With:Veronica Wadley | Succeeded by |
