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

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The Thatcherite darling narrative needs to be an election-winning story

August 15, 2022

The battle for the leadership of the Conservative Party grinds on. Policy ideas are thrown out like bait from a fisherman, with Rishi Sunak declaring his support for grammar schools and Liz Truss throwing her weight behind allowing more seasonal workers into the UK. In the longer run, though, as the contest rolls towards a [...]
The Glorious Twelfth is almost here! Make sure you have your tweed ready

August 11, 2022

This will not be for everyone. But tomorrow is 12 August, the Glorious Twelfth, which signals the beginning of the shooting season. Thousands will head to the moors to begin the annual assault on red grouse and the air will ring with the crack of shotguns, with tufts of smoke drifting across the heather. Hunting [...]
Dodging the media won’t bode well for a new prime minister looking for unity

August 8, 2022

For broadcasters, it has become a familiar phrase: “We approached the government for comment, but no one was available.” Journalists such as Emily Maitlis, Kirsty Wark, Cathy Newman and Jon Snow have all intoned it until it hardly means anything – but it has been a hallmark of the Boris Johnson years. Ministers have, to [...]
Saudi Arabia’s attempt at a makeover is a global test to stoke liberalisation

August 1, 2022

How would Los Angeles influencers, decked out in their finest, go in the Saudi desert, instead of the usual hotspot of the Coachella Valley? This was one of the questions Edelman looked at when making their pitch to Saudi Arabia that they could help the nation reopen themselves to the world again.
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak will both lose in the style stakes

July 28, 2022

It was Nadine Dorries who started it. Of course it was. Earlier in the week, the culture secretary, a passionate Liz Truss supporter, tweeted to praise the foreign secretary for wearing earrings from Claire’s Accessories which had cost £4.50. By contrast, Rishi Sunak was sporting £450 Prada loafers and a bespoke suit worth £3,500. No [...]
Truss and Sunak have gone astray as they fight for Thatcher’s legacy

July 25, 2022

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak will be glad the hottest day of the heatwave is over, because for the Conservative party it will be a long summer of heavy slog. As the final two candidates battle it out to claim the leadership they will criss-cross the UK for hustings in front of party members before [...]
The dizzying tax promises of the Tory campaigns aren’t enough for the City

July 18, 2022

IT WAS more than four years ago now since the outgoing prime minister, Boris Johnson, remarked to the Belgian ambassador to the EU that his approach to the private sector was “f*** business”. For a leading Conservative politician with ambitions towards Downing Street, it was an extraordinary thing to say. Yet it was clearly an [...]
A fresh face in No10 should find some policy rather than campaign slogans

July 11, 2022

IT IS now received wisdom that modern politics is about personality rather than policy. We are, apparently, in a post-ideological phase where the priority is a leader connecting with the electorate and seeming authentic. How else are we to explain the rise to power of Boris Johnson, a P.G. Wodehouse caricature who was always content [...]
These shoes were made for walking: How to beat the heat in style

July 7, 2022

Even veterans of English weather can now agree that it is summertime. The living may not be as easy as we would like, nor the cotton high, but it is time for gentlemen to pay some mind to the climate and, little by little, dress appropriately. But too many men think too little about shoes. [...]
Puttin’ on the Ritz: The business of selling luxury

July 4, 2022

If you are a regular reader of this column, it is a fair bet that you enjoy—or at least have a healthy interest in—what are hoarily known as the finer things in life. I have written about cocktails, tailoring, members’ clubs, cigars, hats and a gallimaufry of luxury-associated subjects, unstinting in my recommendations and preferences. [...]

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City AM The Magazine nominated for top awards

By: Eliot Wilson

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