Anna McShane
@annacmcshane.bsky.social
Director www.newbritain.org.uk
Juggling mum of 4, former teacher, former Deputy Director, Public First.
MBA candidate, Bayes Business School
London via Wrexham
Juggling mum of 4, former teacher, former Deputy Director, Public First.
MBA candidate, Bayes Business School
London via Wrexham
Pinned
‘Your call is important to us…’ but voters are losing patience.
@greenmirandahere.bsky.social nails the issues in our latest
New Britain Project report in today's FT Weekend.
'A call that ministers might want to answer before these voters hang up on the whole system.’
www.ft.com/content/93b9...
@greenmirandahere.bsky.social nails the issues in our latest
New Britain Project report in today's FT Weekend.
'A call that ministers might want to answer before these voters hang up on the whole system.’
www.ft.com/content/93b9...
Reposted by Anna McShane
Good to see the focus on what teenagers themselves think about social media, drawing on recent polling we did at The New Britain Project and More in Common. And @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social is right - it's important this sits within a broader vision for childhood.
on the case for getting teens off social media, but actually giving them something in return www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... (& yes, posting this on a site where many of us have voluntarily taken ourselves off another platform that we felt had become unhealthy even for grown adults)
Even British teenagers want tighter laws around social media – but let’s make it part of a broader vision for children | Gaby Hinsliff
We need an honest reckoning with other factors that threaten young people’s wellbeing, from poverty to academic stress, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:25 PM
Good to see the focus on what teenagers themselves think about social media, drawing on recent polling we did at The New Britain Project and More in Common. And @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social is right - it's important this sits within a broader vision for childhood.
Good to see the focus on what teenagers themselves think about social media, drawing on recent polling we did at The New Britain Project and More in Common. And @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social is right - it's important this sits within a broader vision for childhood.
on the case for getting teens off social media, but actually giving them something in return www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... (& yes, posting this on a site where many of us have voluntarily taken ourselves off another platform that we felt had become unhealthy even for grown adults)
Even British teenagers want tighter laws around social media – but let’s make it part of a broader vision for children | Gaby Hinsliff
We need an honest reckoning with other factors that threaten young people’s wellbeing, from poverty to academic stress, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:25 PM
Good to see the focus on what teenagers themselves think about social media, drawing on recent polling we did at The New Britain Project and More in Common. And @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social is right - it's important this sits within a broader vision for childhood.
Reposted by Anna McShane
Ground rent cap is good news (though peppercorn would be better straight away). Also welcome is promised abolition of new leasehold properties. Better still would be the outright abolition of leasehold altogether, a feudal anachronism virtually unique to England and Wales.
January 27, 2026 at 7:53 AM
Ground rent cap is good news (though peppercorn would be better straight away). Also welcome is promised abolition of new leasehold properties. Better still would be the outright abolition of leasehold altogether, a feudal anachronism virtually unique to England and Wales.
Reposted by Anna McShane
While Westminster wailed about coups and plots, last week @annacmcshane.bsky.social laid out another teething problem - what to do about babies. A popular discussion on the right, what does the left think about declining birth rates and how should we support families? nocows.substack.com/p/oh-baby
Oh baby
Pod regular Anna McShane says the left must engage in one of the biggest issues facing the human race - declining birth rates and talk about how we support families
nocows.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:30 AM
While Westminster wailed about coups and plots, last week @annacmcshane.bsky.social laid out another teething problem - what to do about babies. A popular discussion on the right, what does the left think about declining birth rates and how should we support families? nocows.substack.com/p/oh-baby
Reposted by Anna McShane
Wrote this last week @matthewholehouse.bsky.social labourlist.org/2026/01/brit...
'Britain isn’t talking honestly about how geopolitics is driving the cost-of-living crisis' - LabourList
War, energy disruption and global instability are pushing up household bills. Yet British politics still avoids an honest conversation about the geopolitical roots of the cost-of-living crisis.
labourlist.org
January 19, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Wrote this last week @matthewholehouse.bsky.social labourlist.org/2026/01/brit...
Reposted by Anna McShane
What should we do less of? The question that, in so many different contexts, we all like to duck. All the more so if the answer gets anywhere near private consumption.
A thousand times this.
If we want to take defence spending from circa 2.5% of GDP to circa 3.5-4% of GDP the question isn’t “how do we pay for it?”. That’s the easy bit - a combination of taxes and borrowing.
The real question is about real resources and what do we want to do less of?
If we want to take defence spending from circa 2.5% of GDP to circa 3.5-4% of GDP the question isn’t “how do we pay for it?”. That’s the easy bit - a combination of taxes and borrowing.
The real question is about real resources and what do we want to do less of?
There's a lot of talk about rearmament and breaking US dependence. I understand the logic completely. But I wonder if people have fully absorbed the economic/consumption implications of serious rearmament, especially when we also consider the state of public opinion and the information environment.
January 19, 2026 at 2:46 PM
What should we do less of? The question that, in so many different contexts, we all like to duck. All the more so if the answer gets anywhere near private consumption.
Reposted by Anna McShane
Good to see the PM make explicit the link between cost of living and what is happening internationally. As I said in
@labourlist.bsky.social last week, in a world increasingly shaped by war and instability, affordability and security are now inseparable.
@labourlist.bsky.social last week, in a world increasingly shaped by war and instability, affordability and security are now inseparable.
January 19, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Good to see the PM make explicit the link between cost of living and what is happening internationally. As I said in
@labourlist.bsky.social last week, in a world increasingly shaped by war and instability, affordability and security are now inseparable.
@labourlist.bsky.social last week, in a world increasingly shaped by war and instability, affordability and security are now inseparable.
Good to see the PM make explicit the link between cost of living and what is happening internationally. As I said in
@labourlist.bsky.social last week, in a world increasingly shaped by war and instability, affordability and security are now inseparable.
@labourlist.bsky.social last week, in a world increasingly shaped by war and instability, affordability and security are now inseparable.
January 19, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Good to see the PM make explicit the link between cost of living and what is happening internationally. As I said in
@labourlist.bsky.social last week, in a world increasingly shaped by war and instability, affordability and security are now inseparable.
@labourlist.bsky.social last week, in a world increasingly shaped by war and instability, affordability and security are now inseparable.
Reposted by Anna McShane
A serious deterioration in US-UK relations will be a cost of living issue. This is not bizarre at all.
Starmer framing Greenland as a Costa Livin issue. Rail fares! The price of groceries! Bizarre segue.
January 19, 2026 at 9:51 AM
A serious deterioration in US-UK relations will be a cost of living issue. This is not bizarre at all.
Reposted by Anna McShane
Germany, Sweden and Denmark are publicly debating conscription, food stockpiles and supply-chain resilience. We're still treating defence as a competing priority.
The PM's not wrong to focus on foreign policy so much- but he needs to be much more upfront with the country on why.
The PM's not wrong to focus on foreign policy so much- but he needs to be much more upfront with the country on why.
💬 "No British political leader has been willing to confront the public with the scale of the challenge now facing Britain, and Europe as a whole".
✍️ Anna McShane on how the government must confront the link between geopolitics and the cost of living crisis...
Read more 👇
✍️ Anna McShane on how the government must confront the link between geopolitics and the cost of living crisis...
Read more 👇
‘Britain isn’t talking honestly about how geopolitics is driving the cost-of-living crisis’ – LabourList
The Prime Minister's critics say he is too focused on foreign policy. They’re wrong. His real mistake is failing to say plainly that Britain’s cost-of-living…
labourlist.org
January 14, 2026 at 8:19 AM
Germany, Sweden and Denmark are publicly debating conscription, food stockpiles and supply-chain resilience. We're still treating defence as a competing priority.
The PM's not wrong to focus on foreign policy so much- but he needs to be much more upfront with the country on why.
The PM's not wrong to focus on foreign policy so much- but he needs to be much more upfront with the country on why.
Reposted by Anna McShane
Absolutely. Many places in Europe seem to 'get' that we're on the cusp of an existential threat more than we do. We're often told by those who know what they're dealing with that we're moving towards a war footing but neither public nor government have accepted that means no more business as normal.
Germany, Sweden and Denmark are publicly debating conscription, food stockpiles and supply-chain resilience. We're still treating defence as a competing priority.
The PM's not wrong to focus on foreign policy so much- but he needs to be much more upfront with the country on why.
The PM's not wrong to focus on foreign policy so much- but he needs to be much more upfront with the country on why.
💬 "No British political leader has been willing to confront the public with the scale of the challenge now facing Britain, and Europe as a whole".
✍️ Anna McShane on how the government must confront the link between geopolitics and the cost of living crisis...
Read more 👇
✍️ Anna McShane on how the government must confront the link between geopolitics and the cost of living crisis...
Read more 👇
January 14, 2026 at 8:40 AM
Absolutely. Many places in Europe seem to 'get' that we're on the cusp of an existential threat more than we do. We're often told by those who know what they're dealing with that we're moving towards a war footing but neither public nor government have accepted that means no more business as normal.
Reposted by Anna McShane
What are politicians talking about?—If there is a lesson for the year ahead, it is this: trust is rebuilt not by saying more in increasingly convoluted terms, but by narrowing the gap between promise and proof… www.ft.com/content/6587... @annacmcshane.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
What are politicians talking about?
The UK government keeps putting out messages but no one is listening because they are incomprehensible
www.ft.com
January 3, 2026 at 10:54 PM
What are politicians talking about?—If there is a lesson for the year ahead, it is this: trust is rebuilt not by saying more in increasingly convoluted terms, but by narrowing the gap between promise and proof… www.ft.com/content/6587... @annacmcshane.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
Germany, Sweden and Denmark are publicly debating conscription, food stockpiles and supply-chain resilience. We're still treating defence as a competing priority.
The PM's not wrong to focus on foreign policy so much- but he needs to be much more upfront with the country on why.
The PM's not wrong to focus on foreign policy so much- but he needs to be much more upfront with the country on why.
💬 "No British political leader has been willing to confront the public with the scale of the challenge now facing Britain, and Europe as a whole".
✍️ Anna McShane on how the government must confront the link between geopolitics and the cost of living crisis...
Read more 👇
✍️ Anna McShane on how the government must confront the link between geopolitics and the cost of living crisis...
Read more 👇
‘Britain isn’t talking honestly about how geopolitics is driving the cost-of-living crisis’ – LabourList
The Prime Minister's critics say he is too focused on foreign policy. They’re wrong. His real mistake is failing to say plainly that Britain’s cost-of-living…
labourlist.org
January 14, 2026 at 8:19 AM
Germany, Sweden and Denmark are publicly debating conscription, food stockpiles and supply-chain resilience. We're still treating defence as a competing priority.
The PM's not wrong to focus on foreign policy so much- but he needs to be much more upfront with the country on why.
The PM's not wrong to focus on foreign policy so much- but he needs to be much more upfront with the country on why.
Reposted by Anna McShane
💬 "No British political leader has been willing to confront the public with the scale of the challenge now facing Britain, and Europe as a whole".
✍️ Anna McShane on how the government must confront the link between geopolitics and the cost of living crisis...
Read more 👇
✍️ Anna McShane on how the government must confront the link between geopolitics and the cost of living crisis...
Read more 👇
‘Britain isn’t talking honestly about how geopolitics is driving the cost-of-living crisis’ – LabourList
The Prime Minister's critics say he is too focused on foreign policy. They’re wrong. His real mistake is failing to say plainly that Britain’s cost-of-living…
labourlist.org
January 13, 2026 at 6:02 PM
💬 "No British political leader has been willing to confront the public with the scale of the challenge now facing Britain, and Europe as a whole".
✍️ Anna McShane on how the government must confront the link between geopolitics and the cost of living crisis...
Read more 👇
✍️ Anna McShane on how the government must confront the link between geopolitics and the cost of living crisis...
Read more 👇
Reposted by Anna McShane
Herd member @annacmcshane.bsky.social in the @financialtimes.com today setting out how politicians and the centre left need to speak clearly to people not in some weird totally remote language nobody understands. 👇
What are politicians talking about? ft.trib.al/T8Gc2ZA | opinion
What are politicians talking about?
The UK government keeps putting out messages but no one is listening because they are incomprehensible
ft.trib.al
January 2, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Herd member @annacmcshane.bsky.social in the @financialtimes.com today setting out how politicians and the centre left need to speak clearly to people not in some weird totally remote language nobody understands. 👇
Reposted by Anna McShane
A much better read here than whatever the ‘stakeholder state’ is meant to be that’s well worth your time from @annacmcshane.bsky.social.
What are politicians talking about? ft.trib.al/T8Gc2ZA | opinion
What are politicians talking about?
The UK government keeps putting out messages but no one is listening because they are incomprehensible
ft.trib.al
January 2, 2026 at 10:19 AM
A much better read here than whatever the ‘stakeholder state’ is meant to be that’s well worth your time from @annacmcshane.bsky.social.
Reposted by Anna McShane
What politicians should think about in 2026? Excellent advice from @annacmcshane.bsky.social : „Narrow the gap between promise & proof“
www.ft.com/content/6587... What are politicians talking about?
www.ft.com/content/6587... What are politicians talking about?
What are politicians talking about?
The UK government keeps putting out messages but no one is listening because they are incomprehensible
www.ft.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:39 AM
What politicians should think about in 2026? Excellent advice from @annacmcshane.bsky.social : „Narrow the gap between promise & proof“
www.ft.com/content/6587... What are politicians talking about?
www.ft.com/content/6587... What are politicians talking about?
More than half the country don’t know what Keir Starmer stands for.
No such confusion on Farage. Even if they don’t agree.
No such confusion on Farage. Even if they don’t agree.
Interesting polling for New Britain Project by More In Common via Anna McShane labourlist.org/2025/10/labo...
October 29, 2025 at 8:12 PM
More than half the country don’t know what Keir Starmer stands for.
No such confusion on Farage. Even if they don’t agree.
No such confusion on Farage. Even if they don’t agree.
Reposted by Anna McShane
Interesting polling for New Britain Project by More In Common via Anna McShane labourlist.org/2025/10/labo...
October 29, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Interesting polling for New Britain Project by More In Common via Anna McShane labourlist.org/2025/10/labo...
Reposted by Anna McShane
Is Angela Rayner planning her comeback? www.independent.co.uk/voices/angel...
October 20, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Is Angela Rayner planning her comeback? www.independent.co.uk/voices/angel...
Reposted by Anna McShane
Can anybody hear No.10? We checked. Most big government announcements are forgotten in a day.
The only exception to this rule is Digital ID - which peaked 50 times higher than most other announcements and is still sustaining interest 3 weeks on.
The only exception to this rule is Digital ID - which peaked 50 times higher than most other announcements and is still sustaining interest 3 weeks on.
October 22, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Can anybody hear No.10? We checked. Most big government announcements are forgotten in a day.
The only exception to this rule is Digital ID - which peaked 50 times higher than most other announcements and is still sustaining interest 3 weeks on.
The only exception to this rule is Digital ID - which peaked 50 times higher than most other announcements and is still sustaining interest 3 weeks on.
Can anybody hear No.10? We checked. Most big government announcements are forgotten in a day.
The only exception to this rule is Digital ID - which peaked 50 times higher than most other announcements and is still sustaining interest 3 weeks on.
The only exception to this rule is Digital ID - which peaked 50 times higher than most other announcements and is still sustaining interest 3 weeks on.
October 22, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Can anybody hear No.10? We checked. Most big government announcements are forgotten in a day.
The only exception to this rule is Digital ID - which peaked 50 times higher than most other announcements and is still sustaining interest 3 weeks on.
The only exception to this rule is Digital ID - which peaked 50 times higher than most other announcements and is still sustaining interest 3 weeks on.
Reposted by Anna McShane
It’s time for a much needed and overdue debate in order to secure the future of mainstream, democratic politics. There can be no holding back, no pulling punches, and no sacred cows. labourlist.org/2025/10/no-s... @ed-owen.bsky.social speaks about the show in @labourlist.bsky.social today.
'There can be no sacred cows if we are to reconnect to win' - LabourList
Unless we are willing to have no-holds-barred conversations with voters the left on both sides of the Atlantic will not win back trust.
labourlist.org
October 12, 2025 at 5:50 PM
It’s time for a much needed and overdue debate in order to secure the future of mainstream, democratic politics. There can be no holding back, no pulling punches, and no sacred cows. labourlist.org/2025/10/no-s... @ed-owen.bsky.social speaks about the show in @labourlist.bsky.social today.
Government has a lot of catching up to do with the public on immigration.
Second episode of @nosacredcows.media out now!
Second episode of @nosacredcows.media out now!
🚨NEW EPISODE - We've turned our attention to immigration - an issue some dare not speak of, or perhaps now you cannot talk about enough. @FrankSharry joins the herd to talk about whether the centre-left needs to ditch its timidity and worry. Listen now. open.spotify.com/episode/7r4z...
October 12, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Government has a lot of catching up to do with the public on immigration.
Second episode of @nosacredcows.media out now!
Second episode of @nosacredcows.media out now!
Reposted by Anna McShane
We're the cows! Peter Hyman joins Ed, Charlotte, Anna and Lanae in our first podcast episode to lay out how the left itself is a sacred cow that needs to be slayed with its arrogance, complacency, and superiority all being sent to the slaughter house. nocows.substack.com/p/wearethecows
We're the cows
Listen now | Peter Hyman, a former adviser to Tony Blair and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, joins the herd to make the case that the left isn't always right about everything.
nocows.substack.com
September 29, 2025 at 7:33 AM
We're the cows! Peter Hyman joins Ed, Charlotte, Anna and Lanae in our first podcast episode to lay out how the left itself is a sacred cow that needs to be slayed with its arrogance, complacency, and superiority all being sent to the slaughter house. nocows.substack.com/p/wearethecows