Ed Dorrell
eddorrell.bsky.social
Ed Dorrell
@eddorrell.bsky.social
1.1K followers 180 following 75 posts
Partner at Public First (education, levelling up and Labour). Quant, qual, political comms. Ex-journo at @tes. Still write a lot.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Just explaining #Eurovision to my 6 year old daughter: "... and what's more, lots of the songs are funny..."

"Like 'Beans, Beans Are Good For Your Heart'?"
Voters know we need sane fiscal policies - but 2025 isn't 2010 and they don't want a repeat of Osborne endlessly banging on about "failing to fix the roof while the sun was shining". They'd like to imagine that ministers do actually want to spend some cash...

labourlist.org/2025/05/revi...
'Labour is right to revisit winter fuel. But it needs a wider reset of messaging' - LabourList
Ed Dorrell argues
labourlist.org
Really not sure how I feel about that Chinese flag #snooker
Delighted that I've still got three years left to make the final at the Crucible #snooker
So so so... maybe the long shadow of covid is genuinely in retreat.

Could youth mental health be improving?

New polling by Public First suggests so.
Over the last year, Public First have been working with the Coalition for Youth Mental Health in Schools to develop an updated picture of how children's mental health and wellbeing has changed since the pandemic.

Today, our report is published in full. www.publicfirst.co.uk/green-roots-...
www.publicfirst.co.uk
Reposted by Ed Dorrell
Comrade Honecker had an exceptional day’s hunting.
Chilled monkey brains
One of my favourite quotes about journalism is, "If a newspaper headline is a question, then the answer is always 'no'. Unless the headline is in the Guardian/Observer, in which case the answer will be 'who cares?'" This is the greatest example I've seen for some time.
I'm also quite fond of the slightly shabby kings head in borough. Thus sign on a cubicle door last week made me laugh out loud
Just published the results of polling we've been doing with teachers and parents on the impact of mobile phones in the classroom.

Many stark stats stand out, but here's one: 66% of teachers deal with phone-related interruptions at least 5 times per week. Shocker.

www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Parents want phone ban in schools to improve classroom behaviour
Most teachers face disruption from phones at least five times a week, new research shows
www.thetimes.com
"It might leave a bad taste for many supporters, but it was probably the best day of popular politics the Keir Starmer administration has mustered up since July 2024."

My take in @labourlist.bsky.social on the politics of the aid/defence switch.

labourlist.org/2025/02/aid-...
‘Love it or loathe it, aid cuts and defence cash play well on the doorstep’ - LabourList
Honestly, I wish it weren’t so, but it is. Keir Starmer’s rabbit out of the hat on defence…
labourlist.org
The only thing I'd like to do for a job more than the thing I do now, or the thing I used to do (journalism), is be a historian.

Unfortunately, having the attention span of a pineapple would, I fear, be career-limiting.
I wonder how all those passionate Ukraine-backing Conservative politicians who also signalled their support for Trump are feeling now.

Trump is selling Zalensky down the river - and in its wake is the last tiny reason anyone might have found to defend Boris Johnson.
Preaching perfect behaviour to your kids, and then behaving like this in a meeting is not exactly modelling what you hope your students to become...

x.com/Ed_Dorrell/s...
x.com
x.com
Reposted by Ed Dorrell
Public First’s landmark study on conspiracies and disinformation in classrooms and among young people (led by @eddorrell.bsky.social and @sallyburtonshaw.bsky.social) publishes today after a year’s work. Rather timely really.
Young people more likely to trust social media influencers than government, landmark study finds
Conspiracy theories are rife in classrooms and children (and parents) see no harm in spreading them
Exclusive in @thetimes.com
www.thetimes.com/uk/education...
Pupils share conspiracy theories for fun, with girls ‘more susceptible’
Teachers have told a landmark survey that they feel powerless to combat the spread of misinformation, even when children know it’s untrue
www.thetimes.com
Binning USAID would be morally bankrupt in itself. Doing it without any tapering seems to me to be a) a huge opportunity for China to fill the void and b) evil