Starmer becomes first PM to launch a personal TikTok account

Keir Starmer has become the first Prime Minister to launch a personal TikTok account. The move is part of a broader government strategy to reach voters who do not engage with traditional news media.

The strategy is clear. TikTok has more than 30 million regular users in the United Kingdom. According to Ofcom, 52% of Britons now access news through social media platforms, up from 47% last year. 

For a government struggling with poor polling, the platform offers direct access to audiences that Westminster struggles to reach through conventional channels. That being said, it is very hard for a government struggling with its popularity to communicate policy well, be it on TikTok or not.

There are recent precedents for successful digital political campaigns. The 2019 Conservative campaign, demonstrated the power of viral content. Their Love Actually parody featuring Boris Johnson was filmed quickly on a low budget in less than 24 hours and achieved widespread reach. 

I speak from experience when I say that the success of communicating a politician’s message digitally comes in large part from the natural charisma of the politician themselves. You can be bold in the content you capture and try to capture genuine moments of human interaction that demonstrates to the viewer that the politician is, in fact, a normal person and hopefully communicate a political message at the same time.

Given that Starmer has been frequently criticised for failing to show enough charisma in public and for coming across as slightly awkward, it is no surprise that his first foray into this new medium has faced the same attacks. 

The footage is competent, and actually too well shot to feel natural on the platform. All of this leaves the feeling that it  isn’t designed for TikTok, failing to tap into any of the trends which TikTok’s algorithm rewards. There’s no jeopardy or drama and it’s all ultimately just a bit boring.

Zack Polanski, the Green Party's new leader, has built his rise partly on social media fluency. Green membership has grown to over 150,000 and polls show the party gaining ground. Polanski's approach - emotional, direct, and designed for sharing - illustrates what effective political communication on these platforms looks like. 

Nigel Farage has more TikTok followers than all frontbench MPs combined. Reform UK understood early that social media rewards authenticity, provocation and entertainment. As did Robert Jenrick with his tube fare evader video on X, which racked up millions of views. It was exciting, bold and contained actual danger.

Fundamentally, the government communications team should be praised for what they are trying to do. The Prime Minister should be on TikTok. But if the aim is to reach new audiences and shift perceptions, simply being present isn’t enough, the content has to really work for the platform; be interesting, create content designed for the platform and have fun with it. If there is any platform to push the boundaries in terms of exciting content, it should be TikTok.

The Prime Minister and his team have made a start with its first video, but to really grab attention, his next one will need to show that they really get what really makes TikTok tick.