Simon Heffer

Simon James Heffer (born 18 July 1960) is a British journalist, author and political commentator.

Heffer was born in Chelmsford and was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School before going to read English at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (MA), later receiving a PhD in History.

Heffer worked for The Daily Telegraph until 1995. He worked as a columnist for the Daily Mail from 1995 to 2005. He rejoined the Telegraph in October 2005 as a columnist and associate editor. Martin Newland, the Daily Telegraph's editor at the time, described the newspaper as Heffer's "natural journalistic home". He left the Telegraph in May 2011 to "pursue a role in journalism and broadcasting" and "complete a major literary project". It had been speculated that his departure had been prompted by his constant attacks on David Cameron's government, of which the Telegraph is generally supportive.

Heffer has written biographies of the historian and essayist Thomas Carlyle, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and of the politician Enoch Powell (Like the Roman), which was described by the New Statesman as "a lucid and majestic tribute" to the politician.

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 met with some negative reception. Writing in the New Statesman, Professor David Crystal observed that although it contains valid points about ambiguity, honesty and importance of clarity, inconsistencies permeate the book. In a review for Times Higher Education, Geoffrey Pullum described Heffer's claims about grammar as "staggeringly erroneous" and his approach as "intellectual abdication", concluding that "Heffer should be ashamed of himself, and Random House should be ashamed of this book".

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