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 394 Articles

No, the traditional suit won’t ‘die’- and here’s why

October 13, 2021

We are told that formal dress is dying, its mortal wound inflicted by the pandemic and the lockdown embrace of more casual attire. Certainly there are worrying signs: Marks & Spencer has stopped selling suits in many of its stores, and in the market as a whole sales are down dramatically. I have written in [...]
Aye, aye Captain! The new defence chief of staff needs to tackle the China question

October 11, 2021

The appointment of a new chief of the defence staff—the professional head of the British armed forces— easily slips into the important but not newsworthy category. Last week’s announcement that Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, currently first sea lord, will take up the post in November should, however, give even passing observers pause for thought. For [...]
Why do young Tories dress so badly?

October 6, 2021

It is a perpetual truth that stereotypes are a distorting mirror of reality, but that they also take time to develop and therefore are often a reflection of what was, not what is. So it is sartorially with Conservatives. The cliché is probably of a pinstriped, red-faced financier, Rik Mayall’s sneering Alan B’Stard in a [...]
Ballooning infrastructure costs could be quelled if Whitehall embraced clear data

October 4, 2021

Infrastructure is one of the government’s latest passions. It could be, in ministers’ eyes, a foundation for Global Britain and a way out of the economic decline that Covid-19 has brought in its wake. We have a National Infrastructure Strategy, and the prime minister, announcing it last summer, admitted it sounded “positively Rooseveltian” and pledged [...]
Keir Starmer’s 14,000 word memo sums up the Labour party’s existential challenge

September 27, 2021

We are in the throes of the Labour Party annual conference in Brighton, the opposition’s seaside shindig where members mix with party grandees, policy is debated and the would-be government parades its show ponies for the media and the electorate. It provides an opportune platform for individual shadow ministers to catch the attention of the [...]
Tunnel vision: the private sector has the ability to transform British infrastructure

September 20, 2021

Last week came an unsurprising denouement: the proposed link between Scotland and Northern Ireland, via a bridge or a tunnel, was being shelved. The Treasury could not countenance the estimated £15 billion cost. This was a project with Boris Johnson’s name all over it: big, bold, innovative and eye-catching. It would be a solid piece [...]
Going grey gracefully: How to make silver hair work for you

September 16, 2021

Last week, I wrote about the trauma I endure when going to the hairdresser. However, there was an upside. As the barber’s scissors danced around my head, he remarked that I had thick hair. I agreed, without wanting to seem boastful of something utterly outwith my control. But I ventured the opinion that, while I [...]
Cressida Dick should go and her successor needs to jump-start the police force

September 13, 2021

Even a palate jaded by the madness of modern Britain will have found piquancy in Dame Cressida Dick’s two year extension to her term as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. Dame Cressida will stay in his position until 2024. She has been the UK’s senior police officer since 2017, is the first woman to [...]
Shearing in the right direction: The haircut in a post-Covid world

September 10, 2021

We need to start with a disclaimer, or maybe it’s a caveat; perhaps even an apologia. This column is entirely dedicated to men’s hair. That’s partly because I am, well, a man, and partly (in connection with that) I know little to nothing of the murky and rebarbative world of women’s hairdressing. I know it’s [...]
How much is that window with the doggie? An end to no-pets leases

September 6, 2021

We are a nation of animal-lovers. 45 per cent of UK homes have a pet, of which the most popular is man’s best friend, the dog (7.3 million), followed by man’s most inscrutable observer, the cat (7.2 million). But we also keep rabbits and rats, hamsters and horses, snakes and salamanders. These numbers have swollen [...]

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

All 394 Articles

Subscribe