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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Rishi stole the crypto thunder with an NFT as Whitehall fights to go digital

April 11, 2022

Last week, away from the grinding tragedy of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing fears over rising costs of living, Rishi Sunak unveiled an eye-catching plan. The Royal Mint is set to launch its own non-fungible token (NFT), marking the beginning of the government’s plans to wade into the cryptocurrency sector. NFTs have been [...]
Corbin & King has fallen: What does it mean for The Wolseley, Zedel et al?

April 7, 2022

You can be forgiven for not following the corporate intricacies of the hospitality sector, but last week was significant. On Friday, it was announced that Corbin & King, the restaurant group founded in 1981 by the eponymous Chris and Jeremy, had been bought out of administration by Minor International, the vehicle of American-born Thai billionaire [...]
As we cosy up to Qatar, the West must face the moral maze of the Middle East

April 4, 2022

Last month I wrote about the prospect of Dubai challenging London’s place as a great global financial centre. But Britain’s delicate dance with the Middle East does not end there. The emerging relationship between Europe and the United States on the one hand and the oil-rich emirate of Qatar on the other poses a multitude [...]
Sunak gives with one hand and takes with another to paint a positive veneer

March 28, 2022

LAST week’s spring statement—the chancellor’s mini-budget, and a significant opportunity to lay out priorities and plans—was a big event for Rishi Sunak. While Covid cases persist and people are still dying, there is a broader feeling that the pandemic is now under control, and that the country can now think about moving into a post-virus [...]
As London faces off threats to its global status, Dubai is waiting in the wings

March 21, 2022

Since the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum on our future in the world and beyond the single market, one of the issues which has caused most angst and speculation has been the status of London as one of the world’s greatest financial centres. With the end of free movement of goods, services and people, [...]
We must not put ourselves into turmoil for a short-lived upper hand on Russia

March 14, 2022

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the security of our energy supply – already volatile over the last few months – has taken on a renewed urgency. It is not a new concern—the “energy gap” has been a hot topic for at least the last decade—but the prospect of disrupting, suspending or severing entirely our economic [...]
The personal touch: why you need a stylist

March 9, 2022

Change comes slowly to the citadels of menswear in Savile Row. There were intakes of breath when the venerable Huntsman and Sons (established in 1849) forged a commercial cinema tie-in with the Kingsman franchise. So the idea of visiting not just a traditional tailor but someone who would offer the services of a personal stylist [...]
A tough crackdown on oligarchs must carry us as far as our rule of law allows

March 7, 2022

It is an uncomfortable truth that the West sorely lacks experience of war. That may seem a peculiar statement, after the long and bloody interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but those were effectively operations of control and rebuilding. What we are seeing in Ukraine at the moment is quite different: one sovereign nation taking on [...]
Putin’s war in Ukraine must make us wonder about our military capabilities

February 28, 2022

Last week all changed, changed utterly; on the eastern fringes of Europe, a war is now happening. Not a border skirmish or some cyber jousting—the Russian army has invaded Ukraine and men and women are losing their lives in a struggle for territory and power. Taken by surprise by this resurrection of old methods of [...]
Why it’s time to bring back the house party

February 24, 2022

There’s no question that the pandemic, and the lock- down restrictions which were introduced to help control it, have profoundly affected the way we interact so- cially. From wearing masks to the dreaded “rule of six”, we suddenly found our lives governed by regula- tions in a way no-one has experi- enced since (yes, I’m [...]

IBM: AI adoption stalls as UK businesses lack clear strategy

Padel’s growth phase is largely behind it, so what comes next?

Why I love hotel restaurants – and two of my favourites

By: Eliot Wilson

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