Jim McCormick

There is always a tweet.

How to AI-proof your job The data suggests soft skills more than quantitative competency equal success in a rapidly changing labour market

‘Contra the narrow focus of policymakers on Stem subjects or coding, now more than ever our economy rewards broad skillsets: team players, problem solvers, good communicators and creative thinkers.’ @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/5e25...

The AI Shift: What millions of job ads reveal about AI displacement A close inspection suggests all is not what it seems

Have just subscribed to this AI/jobs newsletter and it's excellent

The AI Shift: What millions of job ads reveal about AI displacement - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @sarahoconnorft.ft.com @jburnmurdoch.ft.com

How steep is Trump’s democratic backsliding? The erosion of established norms has been dramatic but institutions are holding up

Very good piece by @jburnmurdoch.ft.com....

The US under Trump 2.0 has shifted towards authoritarianism as record speed but unlike other examples (e.g. Putin, Orban) it's happened by bypassing institutions rather than permanently corrupting them...

www.ft.com/content/b474...

Great piece from @dsquareddigest.bsky.social, which touches on one of the big theories for why English-speaking countries do especially badly at housebuilding:

Adversarial and litigious common law systems (Anglo) vs judge-led civil law systems elsewhere.

samf.substack.com/p/build-the-...

Such a good piece today from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com which shows that the declining graduate premium is very much a UK problem rather than a general (or inevevitable) consequence of more people going to uni www.ft.com/content/649d...

18 Good-To-Brilliant Cover Versions of Quite Possibly Even Better But Sadly Nonexistent Originals by Other Artists | Pete Paphides Get more from Pete Paphides on Patreon

Pulp's version of The Day Before You Came has got me returning to one of my favourite topics.

You dont win 'em all! Reform's Matt Goodwin in Sunday Times: 'Most .. people criticising me are nerds.The last thing I want is to be at some dinner party table with Nick Robinson & Mary Beard. I'd rather shoot myself in the head'. Hang on, I'm not THAT bad!Nerds sometimes have a (thoughtful!) point.

As we return to a pre-WW2 order, the middle powers face a challenge With economic stagnation and extremes of inequality comes corrosion of trust in democratic institutions. So Trump may be a symptom, not a cause, of what Carney called a

This is one beautifully crafted essay by Allan Little on the outlook for 'middle powers' amid the "rupture rather than transiiton" identified by Mark Carney in Davos. Signals to make sense of the noise.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Our third Impact and Insights report, focused on Education Pathways, is now available 🔍💡

www.therobertsontrust.org.uk/news/impact-...

Supporting Resilience Fund: New offer for Small Grant holders Small Grant Holders can now apply for up to £10,000 in additional funding to strengthen organisational and staff resilience.

Small Grant holders can now apply for £2k–£10k through our Supporting Resilience Fund. Strengthen leadership, systems, finances, and staff wellbeing to help your organisation stay strong.

👉 www.therobertsontrust.org.uk/news/support...

Beyond Pledges: £2.2M awarded to 12 projects Twelve projects that can deliver deep and long-term systems change – or what we call big change that lasts - in relation to poverty and trauma in Scotland through the 2026 Scottish Parliament election...

Twelve projects aimed at delivering deep, long‑term systems change to reduce poverty and trauma in Scotland - through the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections and beyond - will share £2.2M in funding.

Read more about the projects below 👇

www.therobertsontrust.org.uk/news/beyond-...

It's good Dave, but it's not Gotta Pull Myself Together good.

Visit of the Prime Minister of Denmark 22nd Jawary 2026 We'll get by with a little help from our friends

Sky News: Danish PM Mette Freideriksen’s note in the visitors book when she visited UK today

Federal Agents Are Violating the Rights of Americans ICE and the National Guard are acting with impunity.

The transformation of ICE into a type of national police force, backed, in some cases, by soldiers from the National Guard, has been covered as immigration story—but these forces are reshaping democracy for all of us.

Listen to 'Autocracy in America' here:

www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...

This is a bad headline.
But I guess, ‘add 0.1% to total employment costs’ is less exciting.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

What the KENNEDY Center used to be…

Remember that time Aretha Franklin performed at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, paying tribute to Carole King, who co-wrote “You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman,” and it brought a tear to Obama’s eye and everyone to their feet? And Carole King’s reaction. Wow.

YouTube video by AbbaVEVO ABBA - One Of Us (Official Music Video)

#ArtistFaveXmas

Day 5

ABBA - One Of Us

1981's Christmas chart was full of Christmas Adjacent magic. This was ABBA at their brilliant darkest best. Merry f***ing Christmas

youtu.be/IIKAe8Wi0S0?...

Quite the chart. www.ft.com/content/30a4...

BBC outbid by TNT Sports for 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games TNT will broadcast the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow after outbidding long-time rights holder BBC

It is a bad idea for the Commonwealth Games to not be free to air. Glasgow 2026 may struggle for impact and visibility as a result of preferring this bid
www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/d...

Dog-whistle and factually incorrect. Ladies, raise your hand if you were sexually assaulted by a boy at school? I’d wager this or a family member is most women’s first experience of sexual violence

I’m a single issue voter and my issue is that those busses that bend in the middle should make accordion noises

I sincerely hope truth and reconciliation with Bosnia Herzegovina is on the EU agenda as a prior condition.

The Nobel Prize committee should announce the World Cup winner tomorrow

New Vacancy: HR Business Partner

Join us and help shape a people-centred, values-driven culture. The closing date for applications is 12pm, Friday 12th December 👇

www.therobertsontrust.org.uk/news/vacancy...

Image of a typewriter with the word 'NEWS' typed on the paper. Across the centre of the image is a dark purple text box with the words 'Funded awarded from The Robertson Trust'. Across the bottom of the image is the Money Advice Scotland logo.

@therobertsontrust.bsky.social has awarded us £30,000 per annum for three years to develop the core of our work and create a more financially resilient Scotland. 1/3

Advancing Racial Justice Fund: Leadership & Panel Roles Available We are recruiting community members to form a Leadership Group and Decision Making Panel for our upcoming Advancing Racial Justice Fund.

📢 New guest blog from Kailen Budge Third Sector Lab: How The Curve – free for Robertson Trust grantholders – helps charities save time, build confidence & strengthen frontline work. 15k+ joined since 2020. Learn more:
www.therobertsontrust.org.uk/news/the-cur...

This is very cool -- three Amazon buildings in downtown Seattle are heated this way -- but you can't do it with the bloated, gigantic 1GW data centers they're trying to build these days. Gotta break them into smaller pieces.

Huge respect to the papers for finding both an 88 year old worried about the tax bill on her 6 bedroom Kensington house and a 20 year old fretting about only being able to save £12k a year tax free.
Top work all around. These are not easy case studies to find.

Scrapping the two-child limit in full is a monumental decision. Well done to all involved in the Child Poverty Strategy, and everyone who has made the case against the policy.

OBR says scrapping costs £3 billion in 2029-30 and will lift 450,000 out of poverty