King's College London

Paul joined King’s College London as a lecturer in 2004 and became a member of the Department of Political Economy in 2012, playing a central role in its early development. He became Professor of Political Economy at King’s in 2018.

He was also an affiliated fellow of the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Centre, George Mason University, and a member of the Cambridge Social Ontology Group.

During his career, Paul published more than 50 research articles in leading international journals, contributed to books, offered expert insight to the UK parliament, and led on numerous major research projects into skills, apprenticeships and policy.

He was known widely for showing the highest standards of professionalism and scholarship and for producing work that was insightful and engaging. His passion for teaching and designing classes that stretched students but were also entertaining was also fondly remembered by colleagues.

His research covered a wide range of issues in both theoretical and applied political economy, with a particular focus on the history of economic thought, social ontology; technician skills and innovation; and the political economy of vocational education and training.

In recent years, Paul was a leading figure in the drive to transform national policy on technical skills, focussing on ways to address the emerging technician skills gaps in the fields of science and technology.

In 2020, he was invited to join the Research England-funded TALENT Commission, which offered a series of recommendations to help develop the technical workforce in UK higher education and research institutes.

Prior to joining King’s, Paul was a Newton Trust lecturer in the Faculty of Economics and Politics, and the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge University, and a fellow of Emmanuel and Selwyn Colleges.

Professor Peter John, head of the School of Politics and Economics at King’s, said: “Paul was a lovely colleague. I particularly appreciated his kindness and generosity, like to colleagues needing help over a paper. In my case, he was willing to comment five times on a piece I was struggling with and showed me how to improve it.

“I admire his wide-ranging qualities as a scholar with his ability to move adeptly between practical policy questions and those of theory and philosophy. He cared deeply for the public realm, whether the department or the world of policy impact. We miss him.”

Dr Rod Dacombe, head of the Department of Political Economy, said: “We are hugely saddened at the sudden passing of our friend and colleague, Professor Paul Lewis. Paul was one of the longest-serving members of our department and played a significant role in shaping our identity in the early years of the department.

“He is of course known worldwide for his research achievements but students and staff here will remember him best as a kind and conscientious teacher, colleague and friend.”

Dr John Meadowcroft, who knew and worked with Paul at King’s for almost 20 years, said: “Paul was a supportive and generous colleague. He consistently looked for opportunities to promote others and tried to encourage people to do their best work, often with a small remark or suggestion. Taking seriously what Paul said led me to become a better scholar and produce better work.

“Paul was also a kind and thoughtful friend. At conferences I came to rely on Paul’s advanced planning in finding and booking restaurants and could always be confident that if Paul was in the audience presenting a paper would be productive. Paul was a rare thing in this world: a person of depth and integrity, and also a true friend.”

Paul’s funeral will be held on Friday, 4 April, at 15.00 in the College Chapel on the Strand. This will be followed by a wake in the Great Hall. All are welcome to attend.

For those wishing to leave a message of condolence, an online in-memoriam page has been set up. You can leave your contribution here: In Memoriam Professor Paul Lewis.