Feature writer at The Telegraph, author of Looking for Eliza
Joined May 2012
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leafarbuthnot retweeted
SPECIAL REPORT: Russian military victory over Ukraine is not inevitable. It is extraordinarily unlikely, in fact, unless Western support for Ukraine collapses.
There is simply no inevitable correlation between the relative size of combatants and the outcome of a war — particularly when the war is existential for the smaller state but not for the larger one, as is true today.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is nevertheless trying once again to breathe life into the myth of inevitable Russian military victory in order to persuade the United States and other supporters of Ukraine to compel Kyiv to surrender.
Ukraine, not Russia, has actually held the initiative in key sectors of the frontline for much of the year and has developed a number of ways of offsetting the overall Russian manpower advantage.
Russia’s population and relative (but diminishing) wealth will let Putin continue his war for a long time, to be sure. But Ukraine can also continue fighting for its existence as long as Western support continues.
leafarbuthnot retweeted
This is madness.
The Soho Society has struck again.
It is now…
Objecting to the redevelopment of an abandoned building in Soho.
Why?
It could cause “over activation”.
Twentieth Century House, right in the middle of London, vacant for 5 years.
There’s a plan to bring it back to life:
🏢 Affordable workspace for small businesses.
🛍️ New shops.
🍽️ A courtyard with bars and restaurants replacing an empty alley.
🚶♂️➡️A public walkway connecting Dean Street to Soho Square.
The Soho Society would rather it remain DERELICT.
They hate the idea that people might want to have fun in the capital’s prime nightlife district.
We disagree.
Westminster councillors have the final say. They should prove they are pro-growth & approve it.
What do you think?
leafarbuthnot retweeted
I checked this and - almost unbelievably- it is true.
Our problems in the west are so much more extreme and profound than most people acknowledge.
I don’t believe all those bovine students genuinely celebrate something so categorically monstrous, but that is almost more frightening. It means they think the acceptable position is to celebrate the murder of a terrified little girl, and so they meekly do.
Myriam was a 7-year-old French Jewish girl. She witnessed a terrorist break into her school and kill two of her classmates.
She tried to run but tripped while grabbing her schoolbag, causing her ballet slippers to fall out. She stopped to pick them up. He chased her and grabbed her by the hair, shooting her in the head at point-blank range.
The man was Mohamed Merah, and a rap song honoring him and other Muslim terrorists has become the unofficial anthem of the ‘student protests’ in France.
leafarbuthnot retweeted
My @thetimes column: An incredible tale of how an ancient royal charter charity founded to look after London’s bridges was hijacked by left-wing causes
We may not have feral youth on the street, but make no mistake: this is looting
With @lfg_uk
times-comment.com/3b6d00ae
that feeling where u think u have lots of lovely emails from friends and family but they're just substacks
ffs
While The Telegraph has deemed 'picky bits' "the most revolting phrase in the English language", more Britons have a positive view of the term (43%) than a negative one (25%), with 31% neutral
Net positivity towards...
Picky bits: +18
Maccy Ds: +15
Holibobs: −23
Tommy K: −44
The rona: −44
Jackie P: −53
Menty B: −57
Cozzy livs: −65
Platty joobs: −65
Statey funes: −78
A great pleasure and honour to interview Kate Bingham for yesterday's Telegraph. We talked about civil service reform, AI, hope for the big diseases and more telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10…
leafarbuthnot retweeted
Much punchier accusations from Sir Malcolm Rifkind - a former defence and foreign secretary:
"I choose my words very carefully. I think this week Donald Trump has shown himself as a person to be repulsive; as a President of the United States to be a disgrace to his own people as well as to his international responsibilities.
"We all know his actual reasons for this are a grubby attempt to win a few more votes in the midterms by trying to get oil prices down.
"In order to achieve that, he has not only betrayed Ukraine in the middle of a war, fighting for its very existence, but he is also directly - not indirectly - directly responsible for the deaths of many Ukrainians who will not now be protected by the attempts that have been successfully made using intelligence provided indirectly by the United States."
xitter.cf/breeallegretti/status/…
leafarbuthnot retweeted
After the financial crisis, public spending in Greece was cut by 25%, the civil service was slashed from one million to slightly over 600,000, and pensions were cut 11 times. But now it is growing again, its debt is falling, and its borrowing costs are below Britain and France.
leafarbuthnot retweeted
How it feels to live in the hamlet of Brooklyn heights where there is an Issey Miyake Montessori school one block away from a magic shop that has a $15k bird named Molly that is *not* for sale
crazy take.
Everyone blames screens for the decline of reading.
Nobody blames the consolidated corporate publishing industry that made books pricier, more generic, and harder to find. jacobin.com/2026/10/books-pu…
