Paul Skidmore
@paulskidmore.bsky.social
Founder @risingacademies.bsky.social; Trustee @gsf_talks; ex @institute.global @demos. Entrepreneurship; education; politics; global development. Dad of two. Enthusiastic but unskilled triathlete.
I served on a jury for an Old Bailey murder trial. I also think we ended up with the right verdict (the defendants were acquitted on the grounds of self-defence) but the way we got there did not fill me with confidence in the system.
My experience of jury service (when the courts were not a mess) led me to the same view
My view is anecdotal and I do think we got the verdict right in the two cases I sat in. We were dismissed in the third because a witness revealed the defendant’s criminal past. That was obvious from the guards
My view is anecdotal and I do think we got the verdict right in the two cases I sat in. We were dismissed in the third because a witness revealed the defendant’s criminal past. That was obvious from the guards
We should abolish juries because
1. The don't give reasons
2. There is little evidence of their competence
3. We don't use them outside a narrow area of the criminal law, other jurisdictions don't use them and are perfectly just
/1
1. The don't give reasons
2. There is little evidence of their competence
3. We don't use them outside a narrow area of the criminal law, other jurisdictions don't use them and are perfectly just
/1
November 25, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I served on a jury for an Old Bailey murder trial. I also think we ended up with the right verdict (the defendants were acquitted on the grounds of self-defence) but the way we got there did not fill me with confidence in the system.
You can burn my house, steal my car
Drink my liquor from an old fruit jar
Well, do anything that you want to do
But, uh-uh, honey, don't wear an Elvis wig when you are a judge presiding over cases in Division 4 of the St Charles County Circuit Court.
Drink my liquor from an old fruit jar
Well, do anything that you want to do
But, uh-uh, honey, don't wear an Elvis wig when you are a judge presiding over cases in Division 4 of the St Charles County Circuit Court.
Judge Matthew Thornhill's burning love for Elvis Presley prompted him to occasionally wear an Elvis wig on the bench — behavior that a judicial conduct commission cited in calling for him to be suspended and then resign. Court documents say he agreed to step down after nearly 20 years on the bench.
Missouri Judge Who Wore Elvis Wig in Court Agrees to Resign
Judge Matthew E.P. Thornhill also talked about politics and played Elvis songs in court, a judicial commission said.
nyti.ms
November 21, 2025 at 4:07 PM
You can burn my house, steal my car
Drink my liquor from an old fruit jar
Well, do anything that you want to do
But, uh-uh, honey, don't wear an Elvis wig when you are a judge presiding over cases in Division 4 of the St Charles County Circuit Court.
Drink my liquor from an old fruit jar
Well, do anything that you want to do
But, uh-uh, honey, don't wear an Elvis wig when you are a judge presiding over cases in Division 4 of the St Charles County Circuit Court.
So much wisdom in this short blog from @daisychristo.bsky.social. Ostensibly it's about the potential of LLMs as tutors, but in the process it offers deeper insights about human learning and why edtech so often falls short of its promise to transform it substack.nomoremarking.com/p/llm-tutors...
Can LLMs be personal tutors?
Four big challenges
substack.nomoremarking.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:56 PM
So much wisdom in this short blog from @daisychristo.bsky.social. Ostensibly it's about the potential of LLMs as tutors, but in the process it offers deeper insights about human learning and why edtech so often falls short of its promise to transform it substack.nomoremarking.com/p/llm-tutors...
Well-known wet liberal Richard Nixon here on why micromanaging aid was counterproductive (from the report of his Africa tour in 1957 here history.state.gov/historicaldo...) h/t @jdevermont.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Well-known wet liberal Richard Nixon here on why micromanaging aid was counterproductive (from the report of his Africa tour in 1957 here history.state.gov/historicaldo...) h/t @jdevermont.bsky.social
Terrific paper from @lindseymacmillan.bsky.social and colleagues that should (but won't) put to bed the idea that standardized tests are worse for poor kids than teacher assessments. But lots of fresh insights beyond that, including about variation by subject repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk/cepeow/cepeo...
repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk
October 14, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Terrific paper from @lindseymacmillan.bsky.social and colleagues that should (but won't) put to bed the idea that standardized tests are worse for poor kids than teacher assessments. But lots of fresh insights beyond that, including about variation by subject repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk/cepeow/cepeo...
I found this the most revealing exchange in the (excellent) conversation between Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates.
TNC makes this really important (and subtle) point: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...
TNC makes this really important (and subtle) point: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...
September 29, 2025 at 11:27 AM
I found this the most revealing exchange in the (excellent) conversation between Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates.
TNC makes this really important (and subtle) point: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...
TNC makes this really important (and subtle) point: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...
As the great man said, "A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in and how many want out.”
The UK hasn't achieved a sustained period of net emigration since the 1970s. This is not a phenomenon associated with a successful country.
"Reversing recent low-skilled migration will likely mean a sustained period of net emigration. I would support that."
Punchy Robert Jenrick interview with my colleague Tim Shipman in this week's Spectator
www.spectator.co.uk/article/robe...
Punchy Robert Jenrick interview with my colleague Tim Shipman in this week's Spectator
www.spectator.co.uk/article/robe...
September 4, 2025 at 3:23 PM
As the great man said, "A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in and how many want out.”
Yesterday was an eye-opening AI day for me. There was no single, mind-blowing "this changes everything" moment. On the contrary, it was precisely that there were a dozen completely unrelated things, spanning the personal and the professional.
August 19, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Yesterday was an eye-opening AI day for me. There was no single, mind-blowing "this changes everything" moment. On the contrary, it was precisely that there were a dozen completely unrelated things, spanning the personal and the professional.
Should anyone 😬 be interested in a very readable single volume history of Liberia, I can recommend James Ciment’s “Another America” www.abebooks.co.uk/978080902695...
Another America: The Story of Liberia and the Former Slaves Who R - James Ciment: 9780809026951 - AbeBooks
James Ciment, in his enthralling history Another America, shows that the settlers struggled to balance their high ideals with their prejudices. On the steamy shores of West Africa, they re-created the...
www.abebooks.co.uk
July 10, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Should anyone 😬 be interested in a very readable single volume history of Liberia, I can recommend James Ciment’s “Another America” www.abebooks.co.uk/978080902695...
I don't disagree with the thrust of Sam's excellent piece but I'd argue that when considering ANY organisational change it's very seductive a) to focus on the diagnosis of all the things that are wrong and b) to think that a new structure will fix it (1/x)
New post just out:
"How to Fix No. 10"
The centre of government is even more dysfunctional than usual at the moment.
In this post I explore why the current set up isn't working and what needs to change.
(£/free trial)
samf.substack.com/p/how-to-fix...
"How to Fix No. 10"
The centre of government is even more dysfunctional than usual at the moment.
In this post I explore why the current set up isn't working and what needs to change.
(£/free trial)
samf.substack.com/p/how-to-fix...
How to Fix No. 10
Lawrence updated his last post on the Israel/Iran attacks on Saturday, you can read the full version here. He will be writing more on the issue as it develops. Today’s post is on British politics. (If...
samf.substack.com
June 18, 2025 at 12:41 PM
I don't disagree with the thrust of Sam's excellent piece but I'd argue that when considering ANY organisational change it's very seductive a) to focus on the diagnosis of all the things that are wrong and b) to think that a new structure will fix it (1/x)
Yes, total bullshit. WTLBH and TS&TW deserve their place in the top 5. Paper Dolls is brilliant on loss, joy and memory and should be way higher. None of the others would make my list. For sheer creative genius I don’t understand how you can overlook Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book.
June 16, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Yes, total bullshit. WTLBH and TS&TW deserve their place in the top 5. Paper Dolls is brilliant on loss, joy and memory and should be way higher. None of the others would make my list. For sheer creative genius I don’t understand how you can overlook Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book.
I ❤️ this paper, and not just because it touches on our work @risingacademies.bsky.social in Liberia. There is a fundamentally hopeful message here, namely: "Electoral rewards for the policy were commensurate with its effectiveness." Bravo @wsandholtz.bsky.social
You have to bring the teachers along when you implement educational reform! waynesandholtz.com/pdfs/PSL_PE_... by @wsandholtz.bsky.social
June 16, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I ❤️ this paper, and not just because it touches on our work @risingacademies.bsky.social in Liberia. There is a fundamentally hopeful message here, namely: "Electoral rewards for the policy were commensurate with its effectiveness." Bravo @wsandholtz.bsky.social
This reminds me of the spectacular occasional @vizcomic.bsky.social series Half-Arsed Inventions, my favourite of which is the origin story of the sandwich toaster
May 28, 2025 at 10:30 AM
This reminds me of the spectacular occasional @vizcomic.bsky.social series Half-Arsed Inventions, my favourite of which is the origin story of the sandwich toaster
Can’t help feel the “etc” made it a little too obvious they were phoning it in
May 20, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Can’t help feel the “etc” made it a little too obvious they were phoning it in
Having my first experience of GPT 4o just being absolutely *terrible* at a task it was really good at a couple of months ago.
As a Watford fan, this is a quite familiar experience, but not one I have had with AI before.
As a Watford fan, this is a quite familiar experience, but not one I have had with AI before.
May 19, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Having my first experience of GPT 4o just being absolutely *terrible* at a task it was really good at a couple of months ago.
As a Watford fan, this is a quite familiar experience, but not one I have had with AI before.
As a Watford fan, this is a quite familiar experience, but not one I have had with AI before.
This is a great bit of reporting and my main takeaway is that the options that made the final cut were, astonishingly, the best of a truly terrible bunch.
Who wants to know the London Overground line names that almost existed. I bet you all do, it's Bluesky, if this isn't targeted material for this place then I don't know what is. www.londoncentric.media/p/the-reject...
The rejected London Overground line names
Exclusive: Want to catch the Saffron down to Croydon, then hop on the Galtymore up to Willesden via the Polari?
www.londoncentric.media
March 25, 2025 at 12:32 PM
This is a great bit of reporting and my main takeaway is that the options that made the final cut were, astonishingly, the best of a truly terrible bunch.
I'm not sure it would ever have been possible to hold back the tide given persistent pressure on government spending. I basically stand by everything I wrote here about why that was predictable, and therefore the wrong focus. But I agree the sector didn’t help itself. medium.com/@pauljskidmo...
March 3, 2025 at 12:23 PM
I'm not sure it would ever have been possible to hold back the tide given persistent pressure on government spending. I basically stand by everything I wrote here about why that was predictable, and therefore the wrong focus. But I agree the sector didn’t help itself. medium.com/@pauljskidmo...
Startling numbers from Devex on the impact of the USAID funding freeze: $56bn in undisbursed commitments across ~12,000 recipient organisations. www.devex.com/news/how-the...
How the aid freeze affects nearly $60 billion in USAID spending
The uncertainty around USAID’s future affects the tens of billions in unspent obligations that go beyond the current fiscal year.
www.devex.com
February 11, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Startling numbers from Devex on the impact of the USAID funding freeze: $56bn in undisbursed commitments across ~12,000 recipient organisations. www.devex.com/news/how-the...
It is frustrating that every time there is an opportunity to test the more rigorous, more agile, more participatory methods the government championed in opposition, it seems to be ignored.
Ofsted, Feb 2025: "[We] heard loud and clear that we needed to reset our relationship with the professions ...and rebuild trust in the way we carry out inspections."
Ofsted, also Feb 2025: 8 INSPECTION AREAS 5 GRADES TOO LATE TO PILOT OR TEST UNIONS HATE IT NO EVIDENCE BASE PUBLISHED YOU'RE WELCOME
Ofsted, also Feb 2025: 8 INSPECTION AREAS 5 GRADES TOO LATE TO PILOT OR TEST UNIONS HATE IT NO EVIDENCE BASE PUBLISHED YOU'RE WELCOME
February 4, 2025 at 11:54 AM
It is frustrating that every time there is an opportunity to test the more rigorous, more agile, more participatory methods the government championed in opposition, it seems to be ignored.
Good (and brave) piece this www.devex.com/news/opinion...
Opinion: As a CEO at an INGO, I know we need to adapt or die
Our response at Save the Children to a “post-ODA” world is to move to new funding models and invest in scalable solutions.
www.devex.com
January 23, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Good (and brave) piece this www.devex.com/news/opinion...
I have successfully achieved a similar trick in persuading my two that there is such a thing as "grown-up" cereal (i.e. horrendously unhealthy sugary ones) which only I'm allowed to eat.
Up until I was about 14, I 100% believed that you had to be 18+ to buy a Rustlers burger because when I was younger, I asked my dad if I could have one, and he told me I was too young. In hindsight—thanks, Dad.
January 17, 2025 at 11:40 AM
I have successfully achieved a similar trick in persuading my two that there is such a thing as "grown-up" cereal (i.e. horrendously unhealthy sugary ones) which only I'm allowed to eat.
Big Organisation Syndrome: the tendency for large organisations (that don't have to worry about how to make payroll) to treat smaller organisations (that do) like sh*t.
And yes, this is a subskeet.
And yes, this is a subskeet.
January 17, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Big Organisation Syndrome: the tendency for large organisations (that don't have to worry about how to make payroll) to treat smaller organisations (that do) like sh*t.
And yes, this is a subskeet.
And yes, this is a subskeet.
Great opening salvo from @raviguru.bsky.social. Love the idea about installers. Kevin @mulagostarr.bsky.social and his team like to ask their orgs "exactly who needs to do exactly what differently". This is a great example of how asking that question creatively gets you to interesting answers...
Get your Policy Fix! I'll be writing fortnightly on policy and innovation. First up is how to check whether you are overconfident, and why we should offer free heat pumps to 150,000 installers. Please share, subscribe, and tell me what you think.
ravigurumurthy.substack.com/p/the-overco...
ravigurumurthy.substack.com/p/the-overco...
The overconfidence trap
Plus - why we should give installers free heat pumps
ravigurumurthy.substack.com
January 10, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Great opening salvo from @raviguru.bsky.social. Love the idea about installers. Kevin @mulagostarr.bsky.social and his team like to ask their orgs "exactly who needs to do exactly what differently". This is a great example of how asking that question creatively gets you to interesting answers...
Never look back, that’s my motto
December 13, 2024 at 10:10 AM
Never look back, that’s my motto
#Ghana showing how it’s done, with current VP and ruling party presidential candidate Mahamudu Bawumia graciously conceding before any results have officially been declared www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ghana election result: John Mahama wins as Mahamudu Bawumia accepts defeat
Although the ruling party candidate has conceded, no official results have been declared.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 8, 2024 at 12:03 PM
#Ghana showing how it’s done, with current VP and ruling party presidential candidate Mahamudu Bawumia graciously conceding before any results have officially been declared www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...