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Anna McShane

@annacmcshane.bsky.social
817 followers 1.7K following 109 posts

Director www.newbritain.org.uk Juggling mum of 4, former teacher, former Deputy Director, Public First. MBA candidate, Bayes Business School London via Wrexham

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Anna McShane
No Sacred Cows @nosacredcows.media · 12/10/2026
This is Labour's last chance. Andy Burnham has created some space for optimism and hope. Now it needs to be filled with some compelling ideas. Our special post-conference episode is out now on Substack or in your feeds from the morning. Let us know what you think needs to happen next.
nocows.substack.com
Now what?
Andy Burnham is just over 100 days into his premiership. For the first time in years, centre-left politics feels it has some momentum behind it. But is that enough? And what needs to happen next?
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 3h
The PM has shown his willingness to slay lots of sacred cows over the coming years - but the real work is still to come. Lots to dig into in this post conference special. Do take a listen 👇
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
nocows.substack.com/p/19th-centu...
nocows.substack.com
19th Century institutions, 21st Century problems
Labour's Stella Creasy and Conservative Damian Hinds join the herd to explain more about their recent St Antony’s College, Oxford fellowship looking at how to take forward Britain's political system
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
One of the most interesting conversations we’ve had - is Westminster incapable of solving problems? Huge thanks to @stellacreasy.bsky.social and @damianhinds.bsky.social for taking time out to chat with us. Link below 👇
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No Sacred Cows @nosacredcows.media · 15/05/2026
Our latest episode sees @stellacreasy.bsky.social & @damianhinds.bsky.social discuss how to take forward Britain's political system. Out now wherever you get your pods! With regular herd @ed-owen.bsky.social @annacmcshane.bsky.social @ben-lucas.bsky.social & @markdavies67.bsky.social
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Giving birth is a moment of profound vulnerability - and often the first time women rely on the state to keep them and their child safe If we can’t get this right, it will be v hard to rebuild trust elsewhere Discussing new report @lbc.co.uk from New Britain Project + @moreincommonuk.bsky.social
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Great to be on @lbc.co.uk today to discuss The New Britain Project + @moreincommonuk.bsky.social latest report What research shows clearly is this isn't an issue that is confined to a few hospital trusts - it's systemic And a woman's experience giving birth defines her relationship with the NHS
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Great to be on @lbc.co.uk today to discuss The New Britain Project + @moreincommonuk.bsky.social latest report What research shows clearly is this isn't an issue that is confined to a few hospital trusts - it's systemic And a woman's experience giving birth defines her relationship with the NHS
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Giving birth is a moment of profound vulnerability - and often the first time women rely on the state to keep them and their child safe If we can’t get this right, it will be v hard to rebuild trust elsewhere Discussing new report @lbc.co.uk from New Britain Project + @moreincommonuk.bsky.social
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David Klemperer @dmk1793.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Really interesting and important bit of research
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
If we are serious about rebuilding trust in public services, this is where we have to start. Read the full report here - newbritain.org.uk/the-birth-of... And coverage in the @express.co.uk here express.co.uk/news/politic...
express.co.uk
Every four minutes a mother’s trust in the NHS breaks in maternity crisis
Women are leaving hospitals afraid of hospitals and less likely to want another child
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
The New Britain Project and @moreincommonuk.bsky.social have got new research out today on maternity care. We’ve long known maternity services are under pressure. What we didn't know, until now, was the full scale of what that crisis is doing to women's trust in the NHS, government and politics.
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Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
One of our most important pieces of research this year. Working with The New Britain Project we found many women, particularly from less affluent backgrounds are experiencing poor maternity care. That’s bad in of itself but it’s also eroding women’s faith in the NHS & govt more widely.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
If we are serious about rebuilding trust in public services, this is where we have to start. Read the full report here - newbritain.org.uk/the-birth-of... And coverage in the @express.co.uk here express.co.uk/news/politic...
express.co.uk
Every four minutes a mother’s trust in the NHS breaks in maternity crisis
Women are leaving hospitals afraid of hospitals and less likely to want another child
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
When a woman leaves the maternity system afraid of hospitals, less likely to want another child, and convinced that no one in power is listening, that is a political failure with consequences that ripple outwards for years.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
One in five mothers who needed postpartum mental health support never received it.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
But even when things go wrong, most women believe there’s little point in speaking up as they don’t think complaining will make a difference. I find this fatalism the most corrosive part of the whole report.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Mothers are blaming ministers not midwives. They can see staff doing their best in a system that has been underfunded and deprioritised for years.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Women who are financially struggling are almost twice as likely to report a poor birth experience as those who are comfortable. The problems are not confined to a few ‘bad apple’ hospitals. They are systemic.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
The New Britain Project and @moreincommonuk.bsky.social have got new research out today on maternity care. We’ve long known maternity services are under pressure. What we didn't know, until now, was the full scale of what that crisis is doing to women's trust in the NHS, government and politics.
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No Sacred Cows @nosacredcows.media · 23/03/2026
@samfr.bsky.social joins the herd and says the left must continue to slay the belief that putting well-intentioned, progressives in charge will suddenly make the state function effectively. Listen now! @annacmcshane.bsky.social @ed-owen.bsky.social @markdavies67.bsky.social @ben-lucas.bsky.social
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No Sacred Cows @nosacredcows.media · 08/03/2026
We’re back after half term looking at the fallacy of ‘progressive education’ and why the left need to learn lessons about the future of the classroom. Featuring @daisychristo.bsky.social & Kristopher Boulton with regulars @annacmcshane.bsky.social, @markdavies67.bsky.social & @ed-owen.bsky.social!
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
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.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
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.
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Lewis Goodall @lewisgoodall.com · 27/01/2026
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.
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No Sacred Cows @nosacredcows.media · 26/01/2026
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
nocows.substack.com
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
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Wrote this last week @matthewholehouse.bsky.social labourlist.org/2026/01/brit...
labourlist.org
'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.
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Gavin Kelly @gavin-kelly.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
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.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
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.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
But I guess that's exactly why honesty important at this point - if voters are told geopolitics is not a cost of living issue, then as you say fear of inflation becomes a reason not to act abroad.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Wrote this last week @matthewholehouse.bsky.social labourlist.org/2026/01/brit...
labourlist.org
'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.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Read my full argument here - labourlist.org/2026/01/brit...
labourlist.org
'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.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
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.
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
A serious deterioration in US-UK relations will be a cost of living issue. This is not bizarre at all.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
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.
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Fr Jonathan Bish @frjonathanbish.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
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.
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A Reader of the FT @a-reader-ft.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
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
ft.com
What are politicians talking about?
The UK government keeps putting out messages but no one is listening because they are incomprehensible
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
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.
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LabourList @labourlist.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
💬 "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 👇
labourlist.org
‘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…
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No Sacred Cows @nosacredcows.media · 02/01/2026
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. 👇
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Jon Will Chambers @jonchambers.co.uk · 02/01/2026
A much better read here than whatever the ‘stakeholder state’ is meant to be that’s well worth your time from @annacmcshane.bsky.social.
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Tessa Szyszkowitz @tessaszy.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
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?
ft.com
What are politicians talking about?
The UK government keeps putting out messages but no one is listening because they are incomprehensible
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
More than half the country don’t know what Keir Starmer stands for. No such confusion on Farage. Even if they don’t agree.
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John Rentoul @rentouljohn.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Interesting polling for New Britain Project by More In Common via Anna McShane labourlist.org/2025/10/labo...
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John Rentoul @rentouljohn.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Is Angela Rayner planning her comeback? www.independent.co.uk/voices/angel...
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
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.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
You can read the full research report here - newbritain.org.uk/cananybodyhe...
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
@noahkeate.bsky.social for @politico.com covers our research in his long read on how Labour’s poorly executed digital ID push has MPs jittery - www.politico.eu/article/we-n...
politico.eu
‘We need to explain it better’: Labour MPs get antsy about Starmer’s digital ID blitz
A push to give all Brits digital identification is front and center of the prime minister’s migration-focused relaunch. But his troops fear mixed messaging is missing the point.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Digital ID bucks that trend. Digital ID is exactly the kind of clear dividing line that can define a government’s direction, but a dividing line only works if you’re prepared to fight on it.
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Anna McShane @annacmcshane.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
We tracked Google searches for 15 flagship policies. Most announcements only sustained interest for a day; a handful lingered beyond a day, and not one stretched to three days.
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