Dr Simon Griffiths

Dr Simon Griffiths writes about British politics, the history of ideas, and public policy.

He joined the department in 2008 and was formerly Senior Policy Advisor at the British Academy, where he set up their Policy Centre. Before that he worked at a leading think tank; for the sociologist, Anthony Giddens; and as a parliamentary researcher.

In 2010-11, Simon was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Political Ideologies at Oxford University. He has also taught at Queen Mary, University of London, and the LSE. Simon has written for newspapers such as The Independent, Times and The Guardian, and often appears on TV and radio to discuss British politics.

Teaching

Simon teaches various modules in British politics and public policy from first year to third year and convenes the School’s third year work placement module.

In 2025, he became a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He completed a Postgraduate Certificate in the Management of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in 2013.

Area of supervision

Simon has supervised PhDs on New Labour, post-war Conservatism, trade unionism and the Conservative Party and public services. He would be interested in supervising students in, amongst other things, contemporary British politics, political parties and ideology, the public services, or the recent history of British political thought.

Academic qualifications

• PhD, London School of Economics, 2006
• MSc in Political Theory, London School of Economics, 2001
• BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, Wadham College, Oxford, 1998