John Rendel
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john-rendel.bsky.social
John Rendel
@john-rendel.bsky.social
International Education and Philanthropy
Founder of www.peas.org.uk
Trustee at Palladian Academy Trust
Non-Exec at ImpactEd
Rural family life, Bath, UK
Pinned
On why unrestricted, multi-year grant funding beats restricted or project funding in virtually every scenario ...

cep.org/blog/trust-u...
Trust, Unrestricted Grants, and the Golden Rule for Funders | The Center for Effective Philanthropy
A version of this post was originally published by Oxford HR. It is posted here with permission of the author. The best thing about becoming a funder is that people […]
cep.org
Reposted by John Rendel
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:

One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
I feel so angry about Trump threatening to sue the BBC.

The juxta-position between the two symbolises the wider fight we’re in.

It’s made me feel even more protective of every single, dull institution protecting our freedom.
November 10, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Reposted by John Rendel
This looks rather meaningful.
November 10, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Which future are you planning for?
‘Al could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2
percentage points’

Well that’s the best chart of the year in this @johnthornhill.bsky.social column and basically sums up where we are
on.ft.com/4qMMkJd
November 8, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Very ‘subtle’ visual association from the LDs …
Best of luck to the faithful tonight. We’ve all had enough of deception and lies this year...
November 6, 2025 at 9:07 PM
I’m calling it!

6th November 2025

The day Trumpism died.
incredible photo that's definitely worth at least 1,000 words from Andrew Harnik of Getty
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by John Rendel
Facts are essential, but this cannot be fought primarily on facts. Such spooky tales take root in deeper recesses. Progressives must find an emotionally astute response; one that tells a different tale, promises a better future, soothes the same triggered instincts and returns people to reason. 7/7
November 6, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Turns out Trump is playing King - Henry VIII.
If your government thinks the Pope “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” when he defends migrants’ dignity, the world should see the warning sign. The US is no longer leading on human rights. It’s suppressing them.
November 5, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Reposted by John Rendel
When you do the math, its gets pretty obvious.

“emerging and developing economies would generally need prices at around US$ 3-5/MBtu to make gas attractive... But delivered costs for most new export projects need to average around US$ 8/MBtu to cover their investments and operation.”
November 4, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Just wait until you hear how long trees can live
Certain salamanders can regenerate full limbs and internal organs, and humans can’t even regenerate a finger. This is embarrassing. We are being mogged by amphibians
November 2, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Reposted by John Rendel
I see your worthy "why are you still on X" posts and sorry but we've gone way beyond that, no such incendiary publication would be allowed in printed form so why are we still thinking this should be allowed online?
November 2, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by John Rendel
Easy to dismiss as vibes based investing but hope and aspiration were a key part of what drove early economic growth in the 18th C

Mokyr noted the idea of a better tomorrrow was such a break from the past that it merited risk-taking

We definitely need more optimism
October 29, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Reposted by John Rendel
I’m not sure why Brazil was a red line, but this is a good reminder that it would only take a handful of Republican senators to rein in this administration on MANY issues.
🚨 The Senate votes 52-48 to overturn President Trump's 50 percent tariffs on Brazil. 5 GOP Senators break ranks to vote against Trump: Collins ME, McConnell KY, Murkowski AK, Paul KY, and Tillis NC.
October 29, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Quite enjoyed Netflix’s ‘The Twits’.

It morphs into an allegory on Trumpism. Then there’s a song referencing Hobbes’s ‘Leviathan’. The social contract and institutions that protect it can’t be taken for granted. Without them, our lives would be nasty, brutish and short.

Not bad for a kids’ flick
October 29, 2025 at 8:54 PM
I’m going to make the wild prediction that Labour will do far better in the next election than current polling suggests.

Macro-economics are starting to improve and the appeal of the far right in the UK and globally is starting to ebb.
October 29, 2025 at 12:58 PM
As always, we’re getting this the wrong way round. If enrichment, school engagement and socio-emotional development are our goals, we need to add them to what Ofsted checks and then fund schools properly rather than prescribing inputs.

Same mistake as ‘every school must have a library’ policy.
October 23, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reposted by John Rendel
In 'Some Thoughts on the Common Toad', Orwell attacked those who think that "nothing is to be admired except steel and concrete" & argued that love of nature "makes a peaceful and decent future a little more probable"

Rachel Reeves should take note

www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-f...
October 21, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Reposted by John Rendel
The costs of the UK’s Global Talent Visa looks a trifle high in comparison to competitor countries - largely through the Immigration Health Surcharge (which critics say is a form of double taxation as they contribute to the NHS through normal tax on their earnings)
October 21, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Middle East peace seems to be lowering the cost of UK government borrowing. Still not that material for the public finances but another week or two like this week and it will be - if yields then stabilise at lower levels.
October 16, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Neil Hannon needs to write a song called ‘A Man of a Certain Age’ with a sad, funny, cynical description of the very many of us who have laughed and cried along to his music and lyrics for 30 years.
The new Divine Comedy album is gorgeous. In case you were wondering…
October 16, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Just wait until you hear what things are like in the U.K. We’d kill for 44%!
"One party only needs 44% of the national popular vote to maintain control over the legislature" sure is a statement about the state of American democracy
If Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act falls, Democrats might need to win the national popular vote by 5 to 6 points to take control of the House, via Nate Cohn
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
October 16, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by John Rendel
I’m utterly sick of the Royal Family and their greed.
October 13, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Is it possible that the coming death of Tory party is mainly to do with a recent, accelerating decline in the relative status we blindly afforded the privately educated, upper-middle class and land-owning elite?

A ‘natural ruling class’ without that status is laughable (see current Tories)
October 13, 2025 at 8:07 AM
What a beautiful mess my garden is at this time of year.
October 12, 2025 at 9:28 PM