Allister Heath

Allister Heath
Born	Allister Georges Freund Heath Template:Birth year and age Mulhouse, Alsace, France
Occupation(s)	Business journalist, author, commentator
Years active	2000–present
Known for	Editor of The Sunday Telegraph
Notable work	A Flat Tax: Towards a British Model; At a Price: the true cost of public spending

Allister Georges Freund Heath OBE (born 1977) is a French-British business journalist, author, and commentator known for his right-leaning perspectives. He assumed the role of editor at The Sunday Telegraph in April 2017.

Early life and education

Heath was born in Mulhouse, Alsace, France, into a family with partial British heritage; his parents are Alexander and Sylviane Heath. His early education took place at College Émile Zola in Kingersheim and Lycée Lambert in Mulhouse. At 17, he relocated to England to pursue economics studies at the London School of Economics from 1995 to 1998. Subsequently, he earned a postgraduate MPhil degree from Hertford College, Oxford.

Career

Between 2000 and 2002, Heath served as editor of the European Journal, published by the anti-EU European Foundation, where he also held the position of head of research. Since that period, his professional focus has been predominantly in journalism. In 2006, he joined The Spectator as an associate editor, a role he maintained until 2008, followed by a tenure as contributing editor from 2008 through 2011.

Heath's involvement with The Business, a London-based publication, encompassed several roles: economics correspondent in 2002; economics editor and leader writer from 2002 to 2005; deputy editor during 2005–06; and editor from 2007 to 2008. The magazine ceased operations shortly after his departure. He then took on the editorship of City A.M., a business-focused newspaper, from 2008 until 2014. Since 2012, Heath has been contributing to The Daily Telegraph, initially as a columnist, later advancing to deputy director for content and deputy editor between 2014 and 2017. In April 2017, he succeeded Ian MacGregor as editor of The Sunday Telegraph.

From 2005 to 2007, Heath was appointed Wincott Visiting Professor of Business Journalism at the University of Buckingham. Between 2011 and 2012, he chaired the 2020 Tax Commission, a collaborative effort by the Taxpayers Alliance and the Institute of Directors, culminating in a report advocating for a single-rate income tax system. His debut book, A Flat Tax: Towards a British Model (co-authored with D. B. Smith), published in 2006, critiques Marxist economic doctrines while proposing reforms to taxation. The same year saw the release of his second book, At a Price: the true cost of public spending. In July 2016, Heath delivered a speech at the Institute of Economic Affairs' 60th Anniversary Gala.

Opinions

In 2014, Heath called for abandoning crony capitalism in favor of authentic free-market principles. By June 2018, he asserted that "cultural Marxism" was proliferating unchecked.

In October 2019, Heath endorsed the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement brokered by Boris Johnson, describing it as "as good as it gets" and urging parliamentary approval. By December 2020, he characterized Brexit as a "positive shock for Britain" and regarded the UK's membership in the EU as "a calamity for Britain". In June 2021, Heath criticized the Withdrawal Agreement's Northern Ireland Protocol, viewing it as an imposition by Brussels during a period of British vulnerability and called for its renegotiation.

Heath expressed strong support in September 2022 for Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget presented that month. Although this budget precipitated a financial crisis leading to Kwarteng’s dismissal and Prime Minister Liz Truss's resignation, Heath lauded it in The Daily Telegraph as "the best Budget I have ever heard a British Chancellor deliver," emphasizing its ambitious tax reductions and alignment with economic theories advanced by Milton Friedman and F. A. Hayek.

Awards and recognition

In February 2012, Heath was honored with the Institute of Economic Affairs Free Enterprise Award for the year 2011.

In October 2017, commentator Iain Dale placed him at number 87 in his ranking of "The Top 100 Most Influential People on the Right."

Personal life

Heath wed Neda in 2002, and together they have two daughters. He identifies "family" as his leisure activity in Who's Who.