Eliot Wilson
@EliotWilson2
Writer & commentator | Contributing Editor @defencebrink | Senior Fellow for National Security @britainleads | columnist @CityAM | former @HouseofCommons clerk
In advance of an all-singing, all-dancing website, anyone who wants to keep up with my #writing can find everything here, thanks to the lovely people at @Authory. authory.com/EliotWilson
Delighted to return to @TimesRadio's Frontline podcast to talk to @PhilipIngMBE about the current status of the war in Ukraine, with "peace" talks taking place in Istanbul and President Trump's 50-day clock counting down before he gets *really* angry. youtu.be/18Is51E1OSw?si…
I think quite a lot of black people already fear the police, but not for reasons which make for good and effective policing based on consent and good will.
Nigel Farage says he wants 'big, strapping' police officers out on the beat 'I think we should fear police. You need that tiny bit of fear. If you're out looking for trouble and you see a couple of big, strapping police officers you'll think you know what this might not be such…
Recognition of an independent Palestinian state is on the UK news agenda again. In @thehill last year, I touched on some of the practical problems, whatever your political stance. I can’t see that any of them have gone away. What *is* Palestine? thehill.com/opinion/intern…
Excellent and telling insight into the Afghan data leak saga by my @DefenceBrink colleague @SimonLeoDiggins, former defence attaché in Kabul, in the @spectator. spectator.co.uk/article/how-br…
H/t to @alexlarman for reminding me of this 1946 @tribunemagazine piece by George Orwell on book reviewers. Ouch. (I don’t do many reviews, as it happens, but am always open to offers: I like reading, writing and free books, so seems ideal.) orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-fou…
An observation: no newly elected MPs were promoted to @WilliamJHague’s shadow cabinet in 1998 (Maude and Maples were retreads); the first of the 1997 intake only made it in 1999 (@theresa_may as Shadow Education and Employment Secretary).
Telling piece by my friend @NotThatBigIan in the @spectator on the inescapable physicality of policing. Farage is a saloon-bar bore yearning for a never-was golden age, but the insidious discouragement of risk-taking is a genuine problem. spectator.co.uk/article/farage…
The problem of striking a defence deal with the EU ✍️ Eliot Wilson spectator.co.uk/article/the-pr…
My contribution to @CapX's summer reading recommendations, with books by @LordNortonLouth, Ursula Buchan and @EGraydonCarter.
@EliotWilson2 👉 The 1922 Committee: Power behind the scenes by Philip Norton 👉 Beyond The Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan by Ursula Buchan 👉 When The Going Was Good by Graydon Carter
In need of a new book for your upcoming holiday? Here's what CapX is reading this summer 🧵👇
Inevitably, there is haggling over how much the UK will have to pay to participate in the EU’s Security Action for Europe scheme. In the @spectator: this is one of the hazards of working through the EU. The government should focus on its “NATO First” idea. spectator.co.uk/article/the-pr…
I’ve co-authored a piece with friend and former parliamentary colleague, @EliotWilson2 (on his excellent Ideas Lab Substack) examining why the House of Commons is so bad at scrutinising treaties and noting the growing cross-party coalition for reform… theideaslab.substack.com/p/improving-pa…
A co-authored piece (most of the work done by excellent friend and former colleague @AlexanderHorne1) on how to improve parliamentary scrutiny of treaties and international agreements, which is currently minimal. theideaslab.substack.com/p/improving-pa…
Interesting that Sir @Keir_Starmer guaranteed @DCMS’s survival when he appeared at @CommonsLiaison this afternoon. Add that to his promises that @RachelReevesMP and @DavidLammy will stay in their current roles for the whole Parliament.
News on the long-awaited Ethics and Integrity Commission. Lots of things ministers will be “expected” or “asked” to do. Does this mean they will remain formally optional, with no power to compel? questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statem…
This week’s @CityAM column: estimates of the cost of the Afghan data leak are as high as £7 billion. We need accurate numbers, but it’s worrying that we just assume government schemes will run massively over budget. Ultimately we need to get a grip. cityam.com/how-much-will-…
Weekly concatenation of anniversaries, commemorations, points of interest and recommendations, with words by @cath_cov @ABeardedPanda @portereduardo @RyanAMusto @rorysutherland @alexlarman Dexter Filkins, John Bew, Sam Tanenhaus and Alexander Bevilacqua. theideaslab.substack.com/p/sunday-round…
Ah, Europe. Famously bereft of tumble dryers. Reminds me, I must get my washing out of the dryer.
Hot take: Europe is a bunch of third-world countries with better branding. No A/C. No dryers. Ice is a luxury. You’ll sweat through dinner while the waiter ignores you for 2 hours. Say what you want about America, but at least eating out doesn’t feel like hot yoga with bread.