Simon Jenkins

Sir Simon Jenkins is a great speaker on politics and current affairs.  He writes in The Guardian and Sunday Times and works as a BBC broadcaster.  In the course of his career he has written in and edited both the London Evening Standard and The Times, and has authored books on politics and the history and architecture of London.

Sir Simon was born in 1943 and educated at Mill Hill School and St John's College, Oxford. He began on Country Life magazine, then worked for The Times Educational Supplement and the Evening Standard and edited the Insight page of the Sunday Times. He was political editor of the Economist and subsequently went on to found and edit the Sunday Times Books section, where he also wrote a weekly column.  In the past he has been voted Journalist of the Year, Columnist of the Year and has won the Edgar Wallace and David Watt awards.  Sir Simon's achievements were further recognised when he was knighted in 2004.

He has been deputy chairman of English Heritage  and was a member of the Millennium Commission. He chairs the Buildings Books Trust, sponsors of the Pevsner guides.

His books include works on London Architecture, the Press & Politics and more recently, England's Thousand Best Churches

and England's Thousand Best Houses