Carl Cullinane
@carlcullinane.bsky.social
Politics, policy, education inequality, cycling, football. Social mobility researcher. Views own etc.
If you're wondering whether I'm trying to make a joke then I probably am.
If you're wondering whether I'm trying to make a joke then I probably am.
Bafflingly regressive
📊 #IFSSatStat: The 2025 Budget changed student loan terms affecting those who started courses between 2012 and 2022. A repayment threshold freeze will see many repay more each month.
Over their lifetimes, those who started in 2022 can expect to pay £3,200 (6%) more on average.
Over their lifetimes, those who started in 2022 can expect to pay £3,200 (6%) more on average.
January 31, 2026 at 10:03 AM
Bafflingly regressive
Reposted by Carl Cullinane
The increase in tuition fees has been mixed from the point of access and participation
On the one hand the participation rate amg low income students has roughly doubled (to 30%)
On the other hand the participation *gap* btw free school meal pupil & their more advantaged peers hasnt budged (20 pp)
On the one hand the participation rate amg low income students has roughly doubled (to 30%)
On the other hand the participation *gap* btw free school meal pupil & their more advantaged peers hasnt budged (20 pp)
January 30, 2026 at 8:28 AM
The increase in tuition fees has been mixed from the point of access and participation
On the one hand the participation rate amg low income students has roughly doubled (to 30%)
On the other hand the participation *gap* btw free school meal pupil & their more advantaged peers hasnt budged (20 pp)
On the one hand the participation rate amg low income students has roughly doubled (to 30%)
On the other hand the participation *gap* btw free school meal pupil & their more advantaged peers hasnt budged (20 pp)
Reposted by Carl Cullinane
If we want to make places better, we need to create good jobs in them 👇
Creating good jobs (in deprived) areas requires:
- Transport infrastructure
- Creating places that are nice to live in. Culture matters for local growth
- Direct job creation by the state
h/t @drjennings.bsky.social
Creating good jobs (in deprived) areas requires:
- Transport infrastructure
- Creating places that are nice to live in. Culture matters for local growth
- Direct job creation by the state
h/t @drjennings.bsky.social
January 30, 2026 at 9:00 AM
If we want to make places better, we need to create good jobs in them 👇
Creating good jobs (in deprived) areas requires:
- Transport infrastructure
- Creating places that are nice to live in. Culture matters for local growth
- Direct job creation by the state
h/t @drjennings.bsky.social
Creating good jobs (in deprived) areas requires:
- Transport infrastructure
- Creating places that are nice to live in. Culture matters for local growth
- Direct job creation by the state
h/t @drjennings.bsky.social
Yeah agree. I think the tribunal aspect of the current system is very negative. Not everyone has the resources and knowhow to navigate them and the stakes are too high. Any solution has to be centred around getting better support to those who don't have EHCPs.
January 23, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Yeah agree. I think the tribunal aspect of the current system is very negative. Not everyone has the resources and knowhow to navigate them and the stakes are too high. Any solution has to be centred around getting better support to those who don't have EHCPs.
Yeah agree. I think the tribunal aspect of the current system is very negative. Not everyone has the resources and knowhow to navigate them and the stakes are too high.
January 23, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Yeah agree. I think the tribunal aspect of the current system is very negative. Not everyone has the resources and knowhow to navigate them and the stakes are too high.
But aren't the current two tiers just as arbitrary, and mean a massive cliff edge in support for those who can't get an EHCP? Four tiers seems more nuanced, rather than less?
January 23, 2026 at 9:55 PM
But aren't the current two tiers just as arbitrary, and mean a massive cliff edge in support for those who can't get an EHCP? Four tiers seems more nuanced, rather than less?
Great event on regional inequalities and the NEET challenge hosted by @smfthinktank.bsky.social with Alan Milburn and lots of other great speakers, including one of our fantastic Sutton Trust alums!
January 20, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Great event on regional inequalities and the NEET challenge hosted by @smfthinktank.bsky.social with Alan Milburn and lots of other great speakers, including one of our fantastic Sutton Trust alums!
JFC
Nicolas Maduro's heavy-handed rule in Venezuela is finally ended by Trump reut.rs/3YWbo3K
Nicolas Maduro's heavy-handed rule in Venezuela is finally ended by Trump
Nicolas Maduro ruled Venezuela with a heavy hand for more than 12 years, presiding over deep economic and social crises and resisting pressure from domestic opponents and foreign governments for political change.
reut.rs
January 3, 2026 at 4:42 PM
JFC
Great day at the science museum as my stay at home dad era comes to a close.
December 22, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Great day at the science museum as my stay at home dad era comes to a close.
Reposted by Carl Cullinane
Just need to keep repeating this point. Stagnant zero sum economies create political ungovernability. Productivity growth has collapsed in many rich countries since the financial crash on.ft.com/4hwRuoB
October 29, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Just need to keep repeating this point. Stagnant zero sum economies create political ungovernability. Productivity growth has collapsed in many rich countries since the financial crash on.ft.com/4hwRuoB
The two genders
December 19, 2025 at 2:08 PM
The two genders
healthy and happy lives. And equalising access to those things is as important as ever. The work of the Spirit Level and the @equalitytrust.bsky.social shows that inequality is toxic to societies and we shouldn't let up our focus on it.
December 17, 2025 at 11:47 AM
healthy and happy lives. And equalising access to those things is as important as ever. The work of the Spirit Level and the @equalitytrust.bsky.social shows that inequality is toxic to societies and we shouldn't let up our focus on it.
This doesn't mean we should stop working on it! The challenge for those of us who work in the area is to find ways of communicating ideas more effectively, as well as achieving policy change that does make a difference to people's standards of living. Education and work remain the best pathways to
December 17, 2025 at 11:42 AM
This doesn't mean we should stop working on it! The challenge for those of us who work in the area is to find ways of communicating ideas more effectively, as well as achieving policy change that does make a difference to people's standards of living. Education and work remain the best pathways to
This is an interesting piece. It shows why social mobility often doesn't get cut through. Our focus groups suggest that people think the country is deeply unfair, but working class people often feel meaningful change is virtually impossible. socialmobility.independent-commission.uk/britons-reje...
Britons reject status-driven social mobility - success now means stability, wellbeing and a life lived on your own terms - Social Mobility Commission
New report sheds light on public perceptions of social mobility
socialmobility.independent-commission.uk
December 17, 2025 at 11:33 AM
This is an interesting piece. It shows why social mobility often doesn't get cut through. Our focus groups suggest that people think the country is deeply unfair, but working class people often feel meaningful change is virtually impossible. socialmobility.independent-commission.uk/britons-reje...
Reposted by Carl Cullinane
Exclusive: Family income data will replace free school meals eligibility as the trigger for pupil premium and other deprivation funding for schools, the government has said
schoolsweek.co.uk/pupil-premiu...
schoolsweek.co.uk/pupil-premiu...
Income to replace FSM as trigger for disadvantage funding
Government 'will design new model' for allocating the pupil premium and other disadvantage cash
schoolsweek.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Exclusive: Family income data will replace free school meals eligibility as the trigger for pupil premium and other deprivation funding for schools, the government has said
schoolsweek.co.uk/pupil-premiu...
schoolsweek.co.uk/pupil-premiu...
Reposted by Carl Cullinane
Bond markets spooked as the Chancellor appears to disappear behind raised hands; gilts stage rally as she reveals she was actually there the whole time
October 30, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Bond markets spooked as the Chancellor appears to disappear behind raised hands; gilts stage rally as she reveals she was actually there the whole time
Reposted by Carl Cullinane
70% of the additional spending from removing the two-child limit will go to families who are in work. This is targeting support for low-income working households who are being priced out of a decent standard of living despite doing everything asked of them.
November 27, 2025 at 4:38 PM
70% of the additional spending from removing the two-child limit will go to families who are in work. This is targeting support for low-income working households who are being priced out of a decent standard of living despite doing everything asked of them.
We wonder why we're raising generations of ever more neurotic and self-involved young people when the last page of every baby book is a mirror.
November 27, 2025 at 8:05 PM
We wonder why we're raising generations of ever more neurotic and self-involved young people when the last page of every baby book is a mirror.
Reposted by Carl Cullinane
Scrapping the two-child limit is a vital step towards achieving the Government's manifesto pledge to reduce child poverty and give more children the best start in life.
📉 Estimates show child poverty decreasing by 450,000 by 2029-30 as a result.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/26/t...
📉 Estimates show child poverty decreasing by 450,000 by 2029-30 as a result.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/26/t...
Two-child benefit cap scrapped by Chancellor Rachel Reeves
metro.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Scrapping the two-child limit is a vital step towards achieving the Government's manifesto pledge to reduce child poverty and give more children the best start in life.
📉 Estimates show child poverty decreasing by 450,000 by 2029-30 as a result.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/26/t...
📉 Estimates show child poverty decreasing by 450,000 by 2029-30 as a result.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/26/t...
Reposted by Carl Cullinane
💰Budget 2026 💰
The Government has announced that the two-child benefit cap will be abolished – a welcome move which will have a major impact on tackling poverty.
But more could have been done on education more broadly in this Budget.
Read our full analysis ⤵️🧵 @nickharrison73.bsky.social
The Government has announced that the two-child benefit cap will be abolished – a welcome move which will have a major impact on tackling poverty.
But more could have been done on education more broadly in this Budget.
Read our full analysis ⤵️🧵 @nickharrison73.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 4:18 PM
💰Budget 2026 💰
The Government has announced that the two-child benefit cap will be abolished – a welcome move which will have a major impact on tackling poverty.
But more could have been done on education more broadly in this Budget.
Read our full analysis ⤵️🧵 @nickharrison73.bsky.social
The Government has announced that the two-child benefit cap will be abolished – a welcome move which will have a major impact on tackling poverty.
But more could have been done on education more broadly in this Budget.
Read our full analysis ⤵️🧵 @nickharrison73.bsky.social
Baby is really into books as objects. How twee.
November 25, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Baby is really into books as objects. How twee.
Big challenge for all of us working in education
This chart (which applies even more to social media than it did to TV) lives in my head rent free.
Social media enveloping traditional media means everything and everyone is now competing in the entertainment market. Boring stuff like policy that affects millions of lives doesn’t stand a chance.
Social media enveloping traditional media means everything and everyone is now competing in the entertainment market. Boring stuff like policy that affects millions of lives doesn’t stand a chance.
November 24, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Big challenge for all of us working in education
There won't be a tooth pulled in Reykjavik tonight
November 16, 2025 at 4:22 PM
There won't be a tooth pulled in Reykjavik tonight