The Japan Times - UK's media-savvy PM Burnham shifts messaging to TikTok, podcasts

As well as putting out videos on his own accounts on X and TikTok, he has sought to broaden his audience by appearing on entertainment channels run by creators with large followings.

Compared with predecessor Keir Starmer, "Burnham has a far more astute communications team around him" with a "better grasp of the media environment", said Steven Buckley, a lecturer in digital media sociology at City St George's, University of London.

During his first speech outside No. 10 Downing Street, Burnham addressed a crowd including teenage influencers invited because they make TikTok clips about Labour politics.

Soon after opening a separate office in his native northern England he gave an interview there to Elizabeth Day, a writer, whose podcast "How to Fail" invites celebrities to reflect on mistakes they have made.

The day he became prime minister, Burnham appeared on "Career Ladder", a TikTok series where UK-based Ukrainian Max Klymenko -- who has 9.8 million followers -- talks to a celebrity about jobs while both stand on a step ladder.

Burnham has also chatted while on a jog with popular athlete Farah, who has millions of followers across social media platforms.

- 'Natural communicator' -

The new Labour leader has won praise for his fluent, natural style on camera, in contrast to Starmer's somewhat stiff delivery.

In a clip on his personal TikTok, Burnham, thanks to clever editing, appears to toss up a mortarboard hat and catch a builder's helmet, as he promotes technical education.

But it ends with a blooper shot where Burnham fumbles to catch the helmet and bursts out laughing.

TikTok does not allow political ads so videos have to compete for views.

One commentator wrote "can't lie the new gaffer is winning me over" using slang for a boss.

In another personal post, Burnham pulls a pint while unveiling measures to help publicans.

"He's communicating through vertical video (designed to be viewed on a phone), through the likes of TikTok, through the likes of Instagram," the right-wing Spectator magazine's political correspondent Noa Hoffman said in a blog.

More in Common pollsters this month said Burnham was "winning the attention war" for young adults, with over half of 18-24 year-olds saying they had seen his content.

"He is a good natural communicator," the BBC politics specialist Laura Kuenssberg told an in-house podcast.

Burnham told podcaster Day his English degree helped with "getting the emotion into what you do and what you say" and having a "connection with people".

"He's absolutely smashing it," influencer and former reality show star Georgia Harrison, who has 1.3 million followers on Instagram, told Times Radio.

- Media 'frozen out' -

But some have sniffed at this focus on "vibes".

"This isn't just a brand campaign for a new sparkling canned drink. It's the people who are supposed to be running the country," wrote The Times's social media editor, Esme Hewitt.

"Can you stop wasting your time and ours with these cringe videos," right-wing presenter Piers Morgan wrote on X, while right-wing broadsheet The Daily Telegraph accused Burnham of "cheap gimmicks".

But a rival party, the hard-right anti-immigration Reform UK, rallies support on social media thanks to leader Nigel Farage with 1.5 million followers on TikTok, 2.3 million on Facebook and X.

"These days, one of the roles of a prime minister is to act as a content creator," Buckley told AFP.

Despite being dubbed the "first TikTok PM", Burnham only opened an account in May.

Starmer was the first UK prime minister to post there in December 2025, but his top videos only had music and text.

Since taking office, Burnham has given an interview to the BBC but the main national dailies have yet to sit down with the new premier.

His team is pursuing "alternative message delivery methods", realising most people do not directly access traditional media but only "pick up scraps or clips of news on social media," said Buckley.

Burnham's social media presence means "he does not need the media nearly as much as other prime ministers have," said Jonathan Connolly, who works for Inflect political communications agency, on TikTok.

But he predicted a backlash against Burnham from traditional media annoyed at being "frozen out".

T.Shimizu--JT