Skip to main content

Simon Heffer is pointless

The dead tree press seems to devote a remarkably large amount of space to the opinions of the conceited. Some proclaim their conceit with wit: Julie Birchill for example; some with noxious venom: Jan Moir; yet others are not only conceited but also ignorant and just plain dull: step forward Simon Heffer of the Daily Telegraph.

Today's hurricane of bombastic ignorance covers a detailed and complicated subject that Mr. Heffer knows nothing about, namely high speed rail. In Mr. Heffer's world ignorance of a subject does not preclude having the most forthright and determined opinions. So, despite having no understanding of the economics or the engineering of transport, he is able to share with his readers his clear view that a high speed line in the UK is "pointless folly".

I have no clear idea as to whether or how a high speed rail network in the UK makes sense, but I am equally sure that Mr. Heffer has the same or less knowledge of the subject as I do. I am prepared to consider the argument on its merits. Heffer, however, has MADE UP HIS MIND.

On the other hand, Heffer has made up his mind on quite a few subjects. His considered views on grammar were published last September as "Strictly English: the correct way to write... and why it matters". The problem was, despite his obviously trenchant and settled views, he kept contradicting both himself and the most respected sources on the subject. It was, in short, a classically amateur confusion. Far from revealing himself as an authority on the subject he came across as a slightly bumbling bore.

But then, that is Simon Heffer all over: he confuses having opinions with being right.

Sure he is paid to have opinions, but the least he might do is carry out more detailed research, instead of treating his own ill informed prejudice as some kind of moral compass.

Alas, that is the problem in most of the leadership positions in the UK at the moment. Columnists or politicians do not seek to construct arguments that fit the facts, but rather they select facts to support their own pre-conceived ideas. Evidence based policy making is martyred to the ignorance and populism of soi-disant opinion formers like Heffer, Moir and the whole rank crew.

So in fact I must correct the headline I have chosen for this piece- an echo of Heffer's own piece in the Telegraph today- Simon Heffer is not pointless: he is malign. For as long as we continue to give credence to the witless wittering of this pompously ignorant man, then we are committing ourselves as a society to ignorance and repeated poor decision taking. We, the people, must learn to do our own homework and not rely on the predigested leavings of fools like Heffer and the rest of the them.

If we want to strengthen our democracy we need to do more of our own homework and to seek the advice of the genuinely informed- not merely those with the most insistent views or the loudest voices.
Labels:

Comments

Tim Fenton said…
The inherent difficulty that Simon "Enoch was right" Heffer has with the world was summed up in his recent column where he bemoaned the coming of decimalisation in 1971.

His final flourish - to show his mastery of pre-decimal maths - was marred by his getting his sums wrong:

http://zelo.tv/g6wrum

On high speed rail, he's probably seen the arguments of the so-called Taxpayers' Alliance and sided with them, rather than consider the issue, as you appear to be prepared to do.
9:33 am
Adam Bell said…
The thing is that the sort of approach to argumentation that you ascribe to Heffer could easily be ascribed to many of the people who buy his comic - sorry, newspaper. They'll read him for confirmation not simply of their opinions, but also the meta-opinion that one forms one's opinions based on hearsay and arbitrary pieces of data. In this sense, he's really quite clever, just like Goebbels, if he wanted to sell papers rather than just force people to read them.
1:46 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Concert and Blues

Tallinn is full tonight... Big concerts on at the Song field The Weeknd and Bonnie Tyler (!). The place is buzzing and some sixty thousand concert goers have booked every bed for thirty miles around Tallinn. It should be a busy high summer, but it isn´t. Tourism is down sharply overall. Only 70 cruise ships calling this season, versus over 300 before Ukraine. Since no one goes to St Pete, demand has fallen, and of course people think that Estonia is not safe. We are tired. The economy is still under big pressure, and the fall of tourism is a significant part of that. The credit rating for Estonia has been downgraded as the government struggles with spending. The summer has been a little gloomy, and soon the long and slow autumn will drift into the dark of the year. Yesterday I met with more refugees: the usual horrible stories, the usual tears. I try to make myself immune, but I can´t. These people are wounded in spirit, carrying their grief in a terrible cradling. I try to project hop...
Post a Comment
Read more

One Year On

  Head vabariigi iseseisvuspäeva! Happy Estonian Independence Day! It is one year since I stood outside the Estonian Parliament for the traditional raising of the national flag from Tall Hermann tower. Looking at the young fraternities gathered with their flags, I was very sure that Estonia too would soon be facing the aggression of the criminal Russian regime. A tragic and dark day. 5 eyes intelligence had been clear: an all out invasion was going to happen, and Putin´s goals included- and still include- "restoration" of Russian imperial power across Europe, even to the Atlantic. Yet there was one Western intelligence failure: we all underestimated the guts of the Ukrainian armed forces, the ZSU, and its President and people. One year on, Estonia, and indeed all the front line states against Russia, knows that Ukraine saved us. Estonia used that time to prepare itself, should that "delayed" onslaught ever be unleashed, but equally the determination of Kaja Kallas, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Hard Frost

  After a week of slush and damp, tonight there is a hard frost in Tallinn. The general election campaign has started with the parties submitting their lists of candidates and announcing their programs. The polls seem to show a polarization of views. Although the Liberal Reform party of PM Kaja Kallas is set to remain as the largest party in the 101 seat Riigikogu, the steady rise of the far right EKRE seems to place them firmly in second place, replacing the Social Liberal Centre Party, who seem set to lose several seats. In addition to the Conservative Isamaaliit and the Social Democrat SDE, there is a fair likelihood that a new party will join these in Parliament, namely the Business/Green minded Eesti 200. The Greens and the Libertarian "Right wingers" look like they will struggle to gain seats. A Moderate Reform/SDE/E200 coalition would be a good outcome, but the numbers will have to fall just so, otherwise there remains the chance of another Centre/Isamaa/EKRE coalition...
Post a Comment
Read more