What next for the Conservatives? July 5, 2024 After a sobering defeat, the Conservatives must find their soul again. How? By Thatcher’s advice: being for things, not just against them.
Will Starmer dare deal with the merchants of death? July 1, 2024 There’s one substantial, profitable sector where industrial strategy could actually work: Defence. But with some on the left calling for an arms embargo, will the Labour leader look to defence as the driver of growth it could be? Asks Eliot Wilson If you can find solid principles underlying the Labour Party’s economic and industrial policy, [...]
Betting scandal: Whatever happened to “integrity, professionalism and accountability”? June 21, 2024 News that four close associates of the Prime Minister are being investigated for betting on the election suggests the Conservative party is taking an increasingly casual approach to basic propriety, says Eliot Wilson It started with an embarrassing story. Craig Williams, a Welsh MP who has been the Prime Minister’s parliamentary aide since 2022, was [...]
Who will bang the drum for free enterprise? June 17, 2024 For all their warm words for business, Starmer and Reeves share a bone deep belief that is the state the creates wealth and grows the economy, says Eliot Wilson When the result of a general election seems as certain as the outcome of this one, it is understandable that the private sector proceeds cautiously but [...]
Defeated Tories must not abandon the rule of law June 10, 2024 Conservatives in opposition must resist populist disdain for the institutions which make this country internationally competitive – chief among them the rule of law, says Eliot Wilson Nothing is written, of course, as Peter O’Toole tells us in Lawrence of Arabia, but given given Rishi Sunak made a mistake almost as epic as the 1962 [...]
The politician’s new clothes: Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak’s wardrobe choices explained June 7, 2024 From Donald Trump’s boxy navy suit and over-long red tie to Keir Starmer's rolled up sleeves – it is all calculated for impact.
Sorry Britain, Europe’s just not that into you June 3, 2024 Anyone hoping for a closer relationship with the EU under a Labour government will be disappointed. There’s no evidence Brussels has any interest in welcoming Britain back into the fold, says Eliot Wilson Sir Keir Starmer is desperate not to take anything for granted. It is a cautious policy from a cautious man leading a [...]
Keir Starmer won’t fix the economy May 27, 2024 Keir Starmer is driving home the message that “Labour has changed”, but it remains a dirigiste party, believing that the state must play a substantial and active role in the management of the economy, says Eliot Wilson Parliament will formally be dissolved this week, after Rishi Sunak announced the general election will be held on [...]
Joseph Stiglitz has wooed the left, but his straw men pose a real-life threat May 20, 2024 Joseph Stiglitz's new book makes a grotesque bogeyman of 'the right', and it will have dangerous consequences, writes Eliot Wilson.
Why we need an ambassador for London May 13, 2024 London is the greatest city in the world, a mayor and a Lord Mayor aren’t sufficient to sing its successes on the international stage, says Eliot Wilson Two mayoral elections in three years have left London politics rancorous, mean and bitterly divided. The postponement of 2020’s election due to Covid-19 was inevitable, and, with a [...]
