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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On this day: The fall of Carillion

January 15, 2026

On this day 2018 Carillion, the construction giant, ran out of road Tarmac. It is easy to forget that the word we unthinkingly use for the everyday road material began life as a trademark, a mixture of coal tar and macadam aggregate which in 1903 launched a company. By the 1990s, Tarmac Group was a [...]
Mark my words: Starmer is set to approve China’s ‘super embassy’

January 12, 2026

Keir Starmer is set to travel to China and has appealed for business leaders to accompany him. You don’t do that if you’re anticipating holding a foreign government to account, says Eliot Wilson At the end of this month, Sir Keir Starmer is due to travel to China for the first visit by a British [...]
On this day 1799: Britain’s first income tax

January 9, 2026

On this day, 9 January 1799, Britain introduced its first 'temporary' income tax. Workers have been vexed ever since, writes Eliot Wilson.
Starmer promised to ‘rewire the state’ so why is the civil service bigger?

January 6, 2026

Civil service headcount has reached a 20-year high, bigger than it was during Brexit or Covid. Yet more proof that this Prime Minister’s only belief is in bigger government, says Eliot Wilson When Sir Keir Starmer appointed a new cabinet secretary and head of the civil service at the end of 2024, he made a [...]
Five predictions for politics in 2026

December 31, 2025

At the beginning of 2025 I gave caution the slip and made five predictions for the year in politics. One was wrong: I anticipated Liberal Democrat Mike Ross would be elected Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, but he lost to Reform UK’s Luke Campbell by 11,000 votes. The remaining four I claim as wins. [...]
On this day: Britain pays off its debt to America

December 29, 2025

On 29 December 2006, the government paid its final instalment of its post-war loan repayments to America, writes Eliot Wilson Nineteen years ago today, on 29 December 2006, the recently appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Ed Balls, made an historic announcement. The government was paying the final instalment of the loan given by the [...]
It’ll be stonely this Christmas

December 25, 2025

On Christmas day in 1950, Scottish nationalists stole the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey, recalls Eliot Wilson The winter of 1950-51 was cold and savage for Britain, still tending its wounds from the Second World War. At the general election in February 1950, Clement Attlee’s reforming Labour government had remained in office – but [...]
What I have learned from eight years of sober Christmas

December 22, 2025

The last time I had alcohol on Christmas Day was 2017, at the age of 40. This year will mark—excuse me while I count on my fingers—my eighth sober Christmas, enough to make a statistically valid sample. So I thought I would distill any wisdom I’ve gathered from the two slopes of the mountain into [...]
On this day in 1783: A 24-year-old is made British Prime Minister

December 19, 2025

In 1783, the King needed a fifth Prime Minister in two years. Despite the doubts of some, he turned to William Pitt, then 24, to turn the country around.
Labour is weaponising public inquries

December 15, 2025

The UK has a record number of public inquiries, but the government appears to approve them selectively — embracing those that blame ideological opponents while delaying or resisting those that might implicate current ministers, writes Eliot Wilson Do you know how many public inquiries are currently taking place or agreed in the UK? I’ll tell [...]

Europe has made a ‘major mistake’ on slow electrification, IEA chief warns

Will the Nations Championship financially underdeliver for in-need Fiji?

I was on the Goodyear blimp above London – here’s what it was like

By: Eliot Wilson

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