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Simon Heffer

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Simon James Heffer (born 18 July 1960) is a British journalist, columnist and writer, noted for his conservative political views.

Career

He was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Heffer rejoined The Daily Telegraph in October 2005 as a columnist and associate editor, having served as a columnist for the Daily Mail from 1995. Martin Newland, the Telegraph's editor at the time, described the newspaper as Heffer's "natural journalistic home."[1] On 23 May 2007 it was announced that he is to cease being the editor of the newspaper's comment pages, though his position on the title otherwise remains as before.

Heffer has written biographies of the historian and essayist Thomas Carlyle, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, and the politician Enoch Powell.

In September 2010, Heffer published Strictly English: the Correct Way to Write . . . and Why it Matters, a guide to English grammar and usage. The book was strongly criticized by several professional linguists. Writing in the New Statesman, David Crystal observed that "inconsistencies permeate the book."[2] In Times Higher Education. Geoff Pullum wrote a review in which he described Heffer's claims about grammar as "staggeringly erroneous", characterized Heffer's approach as "intellectual abdication", and concluded by saying, "Heffer should be ashamed of himself, and Random House should be ashamed of this book."[3]

Politics

Heffer is very critical of both the European Union and New Labour. He supports a free-market economy, and the abolition of the national minimum wage and believes benefits should be withdrawn from people who refuse jobs. He is in favour of the expansion of grammar schools. Heffer also is in favour of private firms running many aspects of the NHS, though unlike some right-wing commentators, he agrees with the retention of the NHS.

Heffer supports the reintroduction of hanging and is socially conservative. In 1999 he opposed the removal of hereditary peers from the House of Lords. He supported the retention of Section 28, opposed the equalisation of the age of consent and the liberalisation of laws on abortion and divorce.[4] He has also written about the decline of tie-wearing among British men. In August 2002 Heffer blamed "liberal society" for the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Perhaps surprisingly, in the mid-1990s he was generally supportive of New Labour, due to his dissatisfaction with John Major and the Conservative Party at the time. In July 1995 he threatened to resign from the Daily Mail if it supported Major in the leadership contest. Like many right-wing Tory MPs, Heffer backed John Redwood, though he preferred Michael Portillo to be party leader. Also surprisingly, when Tony Benn's wife Caroline Benn died of Cancer in November 2000, Heffer wrote a tribute to Tony Benn in the Daily Mail.[5]

In late 1999 Heffer financially contributed to Neil Hamilton's unsuccessful libel action against Mohammed Al-Fayed.

Heffer believes that Christianity should have a strong role in shaping both the moral foundation of society and public policy, although he is personally an atheist.[6]

When the Home Office put Heffer on its Law and Order Task Force, left-wing politicians were concerned about the direction that criminal law reform might take, with human rights lawyer Baroness Kennedy saying that the government "had not just lost the plot but was handing the plotting over to their most feared critics."[7]

In 2004, Heffer wrote the unsigned editorial in The Spectator critical of Liverpudlian "vicarious victimhood", for which Boris Johnson was forced to apologise to the city.

In 2006, Heffer sharply criticised the film The Wind That Shakes The Barley, a film by director Ken Loach about the Irish War of Independence [4] despite not having watched it, comparing the film to Hitler's Mein Kampf. Heffer has written sympathetically of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and Nigel Farage.[8]

In 2008 Heffer condemned Ossetian conductor Valery Gergiev as a "fool" for playing a benefit concert for those made homeless in the S Ossetian war, calling this a "monstrous act" [Daily Telegraph, 23rd Aug 2008].

In 2008, Heffer called for the United Nations to be strengthened, stating that: "If the UN ceases to be regarded by the larger powers as a institution to secure the peace of the world and justice therein, then that holds out all sorts of potential dangers."[9] On 27 May 2009, Heffer threatened to stand as an independent against Sir Alan Haselhurst,[10] 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 the Parliamentary expenses scandal.[11] He is a scathing opponent of current British Prime Minister David Cameron and 'moderniser' elements within the current Conservative Party (UK)[12][13]

Quotations

  • "Portugal has revealed itself to be little more than a banana republic through the handling of this case. Whether you have small children or not, you would be mad even to think of having a holiday there."[14] Simon Heffer writing in The Daily Telegraph about the case of Madeleine McCann, January 2008.
  • "The evil that drug dealers do cannot be adequately punished under our present law; I would take a leaf out of China's book, and have them taken out and shot in the back of the head. That isn't going to happen. But using the laws we do have more effectively, applying them with zero tolerance, and making junkies pay - literally - for the damage they do to society would be a start. I fear, though, that it is already too late."[15] Simon Heffer writing in The Daily Telegraph about drug policy, January 2008.
  • "If the Government wishes to prime the economy, it should bulldoze the Norris Green estate in Liverpool, where the murderer and his gang live, and split up the gang by redistributing them around the country, preferably to remote islands. Until we stop paying people to be an underclass, we'll have an underclass."[16] Simon Heffer writing in The Daily Telegraph about the case of the murder of Rhys Jones, February 2009.

Publications

  • Heffer, Simon, & Charles Moore (editors), A Tory Seer: The Selected Journalism of T.E. Utley, London, 1989, ISBN 0-241-12728-9
  • Heffer, Simon, Moral Desperado: A Life of Thomas Carlyle, London, 1995.
  • Heffer, Simon, Power and Place: The Political Consequences of King Edward VII, London, 1998.
  • Heffer, Simon, Like the Roman: The Life of Enoch Powell, London, 1998. ISBN 0-297-84286-2
  • Heffer, Simon, "Nor Shall My Sword: The Reinvention of England", London, 1999.
  • Heffer, Simon, Vaughan Williams, London, 2000. ISBN 0-297-64398-3

References

  1. ^ "Columnist Simon Heffer to join The Daily Telegraph". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 5 November 2006.
  2. ^ http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2010/10/english-heffer-sentence
  3. ^ http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=414141
  4. ^ Heffer, Simon (2006), "Simon Heffer on Saturday", The Daily Telegraph, 7 January 2006, London. Available at [1], accessed on 6 January 2007.
  5. ^ The Daily Mail - November 24, 2000
  6. ^ Heffer, Simon (21 December 2005). "Stop apologising for being Christian". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 21 December 2005.
  7. ^ Helena Kennedy, "Just Law"
  8. ^ See, for example, [2] and [3]
  9. ^ Heffer, Simon (12 January 2008). "UK foreign interventions as a middling power". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  10. ^ Simon Heffer "MPs' expenses: do the right thing, Sir Alan Haselhurst, or I will stand against you", Daily Telegraph, 27 May 2009.
  11. ^ Stephen Brook "Daily Telegraph writer Simon Heffer threatens to stand against his Tory MP", The Guardian, 27 May 2009.
  12. ^ Simon Heffer: "Only a Tory without principles would demonise the Right" Daily Telegraph: 18.05.10: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/7737948/Only-a-Tory-without-principles-would-demonise-the-Right.html
  13. ^ Simon Heffer: "Dave will rue the day he betrayed the Conservatives" Daily Telegraph: 21.05.10: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/7750235/David-Cameron-will-rue-the-day-he-betrayed-the-Conservatives.html
  14. ^ Heffer, Simon (5 January 2008). "Don't go to Portugal for your holiday". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-01-05. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Heffer, Simon (12 January 2008). "Make junkies pay for hospital treatment". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-01-12. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Heffer, Simon (12 January 2008). "Gordon Brown's behaviour is simply immoral (sub-heading: Killing Runs in this Dishonest Family)". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-01-12. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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