There was a backlash when No 10 invited online content creators inside its doors. But in a fast-changing media landscape, this solves two problems at once
Last year, No 10 took an unprecedented step: it invited content creators to cross the threshold of Downing Street.
Naturally, the creators all filmed themselves outside the famous door. Once inside, their most treasured possessions, their phones, were taken from them and exchanged for government-approved devices, so they could continue to take photos and record video without breaching security guidelines. At the reception, creators from areas as wide as science, education and travel took part in a networking session at the heart of government.
This was one of a number of events in 2025. There were also off-the-record breakfasts to talk about how creators might collaborate with the government to reach new and younger audiences. A large part of the work being done by No 10’s New Media Unit was aimed at working with financial education creators to help share new policies being launched by the Treasury.
Financial content creators were invited to speeches and briefings for the biggest political events of the year. When Anna Brading, a personal finance content creator, entered the No 10 briefing room for the spring statement, she could hardly believe it. Having three kids at a young age meant that she spent her time raising a family and making ends meet by tutoring maths on the side. As she managed her family’s money, she began posting tips online for other mums. Now she was in the room that public health experts had updated the public from during the pandemic. “The day I walked in that room, I had to take a minute,” she says.
