Esme Lillywhite

Card showing an image of a family with a mother and two children, below a metaphorical poverty line. Text reads 'The average person in poverty now lives 29% below the poverty line, compared with 23% in the mid 1990s.

📢 The latest figures from #UKPoverty2026 reveal a picture of poverty hardening, not easing.

The average person in poverty in 2021-24 was 29% below the poverty line.

This is up from 23% in 1994-97.

As people fall further into poverty, the impact on their lives worsens.

So happy to share that I passed my viva last week with minor revisions! Massive thank you to my amazing supervisors and examining committee 😄

🚨 NEW: Children from low-income homes are more likely to have special educational needs and are also less likely to get the support they need, we have found.

Our new research reveals massive socio-economic inequalities in accessing support from a SEND system in crisis 🧵⤵️

This morning at Labour Party Conference, our panel is looking at the attainment gap and asking why disadvantaged pupils are behind their peers.

Chaired by @nickharrison73.bsky.social, we are joined by @sarahsmithlab.bsky.social, @childrenscomm.bsky.social, and @danielkebedeneu.bsky.social

Today we are at the Labour Party Conference to explore findings from the Sutton Trust's latest report, Elitist Britain.

We are joined by @lindseymacmillan.bsky.social, @peter4bracknell.bsky.social, @lewisgoodall.com, Lord David Evans, and our own @carlcullinane.bsky.social.

⬇️ Follow updates below

26% of inequality of opportunity in the UK is determined by factors beyond the individual's control, just below the OECD average of 28% according to the latest OECD report. Check out my blog for the Sutton Trust below ⤵️

Check out the stats yourself on the site, & huge congrats to colleagues, this project has been a massive undertaking for the past few months!

🔗 elitistbritain.suttontrust.com

Compared to the general UK population, the leading people in our report are:

5x more likely to have gone to private school
21x more likely to have gone to Oxbridge
38x more likely to have done both 🤯

9 of the 46 professions we looked at were over 50% privately educated.

🚨 New Elitist Britain report out today from @suttontrust.bsky.social

We analysed the educational backgrounds of the UK’s top figures across politics, business, sport, and the arts.

Some key stats you should see 🧵
🔗 elitistbritain.suttontrust.com

Cold spots: Mapping inequality in SHAPE provision in UK higher education This British Academy report reveals that many parts of the UK are becoming subject cold spots – areas with no provision in a subject within a commutable distance. These are often in rural, coastal or ...

📢 Today the Academy launches a major new report urging action to tackle a growing crisis in our universities. Cuts to courses mean more regions than ever are ‘cold spots’ for access to many SHAPE subjects - with even more at risk. 🧵

📍Read the full report: www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/policy-and-r...

Happy GCSE, Level 1 & 2 Results Day! Congrats to everyone receiving their results today 👏 We've been diving into the stats this morning, see below-

It's also my birthday today so you have to read it 🤷‍♀️

I've written my first blog for The Sutton Trust, find my blog on Understanding Social Mobility below 👇

What is Social Mobility? - The Sutton Trust What does social mobility mean in 2025?

It's #SocialMobilityDay and this year's theme is #ShiftMindsets. In my briefing, we discuss some of the common misconceptions surrounding the concept of social mobility, what it really means, and factors that can influence it. Give it a read here: www.suttontrust.com/our-research...

Interesting also to see the results for each constituency. In my home town of Eastleigh, only 7.7% of FSM eligible pupils complete a degree by age 22, compared to 16% of FSM eligible pupils nationally and 32% of non-FSM pupils.

Research released today by The Sutton Trust shows stark inequalities in opportunity across constituencies.

Saddened to see how much young people's opportunities depend on where they grew up.

The next step is to change this.

Research & map available here:
www.suttontrust.com/our-research...

New research out today from The Sutton Trust, find the key findings and recommendations below. It's time to get serious about widening participation in medical schools. 👇

Research Contractor (Elitist Britain 2025) - The Sutton Trust We’re looking for a freelance researcher to carry out work for our landmark report, Elitist Britain 2025

🚨 Freelance research opportunity 🚨

We're looking for a researcher to help us with data collection for our major report, Elitist Britain 2025 - looking at the backgrounds of those making up the country's elites - please do share in your networks 🙂

recruitment.suttontrust.com/jobs/5596434...

BJPolS abstract describing the Global Legislators Database, which includes demographic and biographical data on legislators from nearly 100 parliamentary democracies worldwide.

NEW -

The Global Legislators Database: Characteristics of National Legislators in the World’s Democracies - cup.org/4hMcJCi

- @carnes.bsky.social, Joshua Ferrer, @mgoldenprof.bsky.social, @esmelillywhite.bsky.social, @noamlupu.bsky.social & @eugenian.bsky.social

#OpenAccess

Thanks @mgoldenprof.bsky.social @noamlupu.bsky.social @carnes.bsky.social @eugenian.bsky.social & Joshua Ferrer

Very thankful to have been a small part of the massive effort that went into compiling this database, and happy to share that it's out today! Check out the Global Legislators Database below, a meticulous collection of info on the characteristics of elected politicians from across the world

Internships are more and more important to kickstarting young people's careers, but too many of them are inaccessible to people from lower income backgrounds.

Unpaid internships should be banned- know your rights! Check out our new research on internships from The Sutton Trust below🆕👇

Hugely excited to announce that this week I started my new role as Research and Policy Officer at @suttontrust.bsky.social!

Which countries have the most-educated politicians? American lawmakers have lofty credentials, but not necessarily more skills

Spent much of Covid meeting weekly with a terrific group of research assistants to assemble the Global Legislators Database w/ @noamlupu.bsky.social @carnes.bsky.social @esmelillywhite.bsky.social Eugenia Nazrullaeva and Joshua Ferrer, written up in The Economist www.economist.com/interactive/...