By: Eliot Wilson

Eliot Wilson is a writer, commentator and contributing editor at Defence On The Brink. He was formerly a clerk in the House of Commons and writes regularly on politics, defence and international security, and Parliament and the constitution, including for The Spectator, The Hill, The i Paper and CapX

All 412 Articles

We need a government that gets business, not businessmen running government

January 13, 2025

The idea that business leaders can transform the way government works didn’t start with Elon musk, but success in politics demands different skills to entrepreneurship, says Eliot Wilson Business feels let down by the current government. Before the general election, Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, staged an updated performance of the [...]
Labour’s China ‘audit’ is pointless. We already know Starmer’s stance on Beijing

January 4, 2025

Labour has clearly settled on its stance towards Beijing, let's give up the "audit" nonsense, writes Eliot Wilson.
Five predictions for British politics in 2025

January 1, 2025

Eliot Wilson looks into his crystal ball to predict five things that will happen in the coming year There is an old Danish proverb, often misattributed to the New York Yankees’ legendary catcher Yogi Berra, that it is hard to make predictions, especially about the future. In politics, it can be high risk and high [...]
If we “re-wire” the state, how much should government do?

December 16, 2024

There is a consensus that the state must be more efficient, but less attention has been paid to how much it should actually do, says Eliot Wilson The government has been talking in revolutionary terms recently about how Britain is run. When he appointed Sir Chris Wormald as the new cabinet secretary, the Prime Minister [...]
The Gregg Wallace scandal is odious. But should it be in the news?

December 6, 2024

Some think the Gregg Wallace scandal has been overly represented in the news. But is this true? Eliot Wilson reflects on the role of media.
The princes in the tower: History is not a whodunnit

December 4, 2024

A new documentary claiming to have ‘solved’ the mystery of the princes in the tower misses the point entirely. History is a record of what happened, not a morality play, says Eliot Wilson Last night Channel 5 broadcast the enticingly titled Princes in the Tower: A damning discovery. It combined the promise of historical revelation [...]
Jeremy Clarkson for PM! Are celebrity politicians the future?

December 2, 2024

Trump, Zelenskyy and… Jeremy Clarkson: are we entering the era of the celebrity politicians? Eliot Wilson takes a look When some 13,000 farmers converged on Westminster last month to protest at the government’s plans for inheritance tax on farms, one figure stood out. A tall, lanky man in a knitted cap was hemmed in by [...]
Jaguar rebrand shows the risk of embracing the fleeting ‘now’

November 22, 2024

The Jaguar rebrand has been dreadfully misconceived. The fatal mistake? Throwing away their heritage, writes Eliot Wilson.
COP29: A missed opportunity to take the heat out of global warming

November 18, 2024

Those who shout the loudest about climate change tend to have a disproportionate influence, but we’ll never solve this challenge without being realistic and practical, says Eliot Wilson There was a time when climate change – ”global warming” was the argot when I was young – was accepted by politicians as a major challenge. Margaret [...]
Gerry Grimstone: ‘Climate change is the best investment opportunity since the Industrial Revolution’

November 14, 2024

Former investment minister and chairman of Gemcorp Capital, Gerry Grimstone, speaks to Eliot Wilson about the transformative potential of net zero and why private capital is indispensable to growth Gerry Grimstone, who turned 75 this summer, is steeped in private enterprise. He was a director of the venerable London investment house Schroders, chairman of Standard [...]

New York Knicks could be first publicly traded NBA team in 24 years

How the business of photographing the Winter Olympics has changed

Chiharu Shiota and Yin Xiuzhen at the Hayward Gallery

By: Eliot Wilson

All 412 Articles

Subscribe