Top 10 Takeaways from Prof Danny Dorling at the Holyrood Festival of Politics
We share our top 10 insights from the 2025 Festival of Politics at Holyrood, where we attended a powerful session with Professor Danny Dorling, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oxford.
From rising inequality to the politics of child poverty and electoral reform, this episode unpacks the key messages from Dorling’s thought-provoking talk — including a question from Marlene herself!
If you’re interested in social justice, politics, or progressive change, this episode is packed with insight, analysis, and inspiration.
Key takeaways include:
- 03:20 How inequality is shaped by family background
- 08:22 Why it’s dangerously easy to scare the public
- 13:38 The Scottish Child Payment as a vital anti-poverty tool
- 19:32 How child poverty is measured — and why it matters
- 21:15 The essential role of care and compassion in policymaking
- 24:06 How Reform UK’s agenda threatens climate progress
- 28:18 Marlene asks a question in Holyrood!
- 33:20 The democratic risk of First Past the Post voting system
- 36:03 Growing disconnect between people and politics
- 38:36 The surprising reasons why violence is decreasing
Listen now and join the conversation on building a fairer society.
- Watch the video version of this podcast on our YouTube channel
- The complete video of the event is here on Scottish Parliament website.
- In April last year, we posted a blog called Social Solidarity: Scottish Child Payment, about the benefits it is bringing to Scots’ families, and helping tackle child poverty. And it’s clear that those benefits are still growing.
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