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 law’s delay: Priti Patel must fix the asylum process to stop Channel boats

November 29, 2021

Being Home Secretary is hard. It has long been known as the “graveyard of careers”, with headstones marked Smith, Clarke and Blunkett. One of the longstanding problems is that the Home Office is essentially reactive. Even after losing responsibility for courts in 2003 and prisons and probation in 2007, it oversees law and order, borders [...]
London needs to have the powers to control its own destiny – and transport

November 22, 2021

It is no longer headline news that Transport for London is facing a financial crisis. Last week the mayor of London revealed the network needed £1.7bn over the next 18 months simply to balance its books, and at least £1.3bn every year to make essential upgrades on the Tubes, trains and buses. This summer, Tfl [...]
Coffee and me: For the best black stuff, go back to basics

November 18, 2021

Recently I mused to a friend that if pubs didn’t expand their non-alcoholic offerings, they ran the risk of losing a generation of potential consumers who don’t drink much and for whom the more natural social setting is the coffee shop. It’s not hard to see how this could happen: the bean temples of Starbucks, [...]
Uber’s model was rife with flaws but the gig economy deserves saving

November 15, 2021

It has been less than ten years since Uber started operating in London. In that short time, the ride-hailing service has transformed the way many urban dwellers think about their transportation needs and their expectations of connectivity. By the beginning of 2020, just before the pandemic, Londoners took it for granted that Uber—or Bolt Kapten [...]
The magic of Cinema: Why there’s no better place to be this winter

November 10, 2021

One of my great joys is the cinema. I don’t mean that I rush to see every new release; what I mean is that I love the experience of watching a film as it was intended to be seen. A hushed, darkened room, a ripple of anticipation, the trailers for features to come, the escape [...]
Your choice of fabrics is key to beating the winter blues

October 28, 2021

Last week I wrote with anticipation about overcoats. The promise of an Indian summer is now long gone and the air grows colder and harder by the day. As the clocks go back this weekend, we will soon be plunged into dark evenings, but this shouldn’t be cause for despair: as with many things, it [...]
Opinion-in-brief: Budget traditions are traditions for a reason

October 27, 2021

Budgets are supposed to be secret. Apart from launch codes and special forces, they’re the most confidential part of government. In 1947, the Labour chancellor, Hugh Dalton, had to resign because he let slip a detail of his budget on his way into the chamber. They’re not just secret from the public. By tradition, the [...]
Rishi Sunak is risking his Conservative credentials if he ignores business rates

October 25, 2021

For anyone who watches economic policy, reforming business rates seems rather like changing the House of Lords: everyone agrees it’s absolutely vital, the system needs to be modernised to enhance our productivity, but no one away from the think-tank fringes actually wants to get involved. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, promised in March 2020 to review [...]
As winter approaches, an ode to the overcoat

October 21, 2021

Although at the start of October we were having an Indian summer, a glance outside the window proves a bitter reminder that we are marching into the cold season. The days of striding out without anything but a raincoat are dwindling fast, and the wardrobe must be flung open, the moths beaten back. It will [...]
We could make Glasgow great again if London and Edinburgh can get along

October 19, 2021

Glasgow is the fifth largest city in the UK, easily the biggest in Scotland, though still smaller than it was 50 years ago. The Dear Green Place, more aptly tagged “No Mean City” in the 1930s, was once the second city of the empire, a global hub of shipbuilding and coal-mining, beautified by trade barons [...]

Smithfield Christmas Meat Auction: London’s oldest festive tradition returns

Joshua vs Paul: A defining moment in evolution of sport entertainment

Central London Alliance Launches Podcast to Debate London’s Opportunities and Obstacles for Growth

By: Eliot Wilson

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