Inside Keir Starmer’s TikTok journey to cease Labour being ‘eaten for lunch’
The Mirror takes a deep dive into Keir Starmer’s TikTok journey, including a look at what he’s posting, why he chose TikTok and what No10 insiders are hoping to get out of it
“We want it to be properly behind the scenes,” one Downing Street aide said as Keir Starmer’s TikTok account was finally launched this week.
It kicked off with a Love Actually-style clip of the PM and his wife, Victoria, holding hands as they walked through the corridor of No10 towards the Christmas lights switch-on. A second shows him coming down the stairs from the Downing Street flat he shares with his family.
Another gives a glimpse of the PM doing up his tie as he waits behind the famous black door to greet Ukraine’s war-time leader Volodymyr Zelensky alongside European leaders. The best performing clip so far – with over a million views – is the PM doing the viral “6-7” trend with a primary school pupil. The grinning PM joins in with the craze loved by young people which involves waving your hands up and down.
But there have been whispers around Westminster whether the new account – designed to appeal to younger voters – is a little cringe. It’s a tricky medium for politicians to strike the right balance, as an influencer’s review of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s rare pre-Budget press conference reminded everyone last month. “I don’t think that is the stuff of viral clips, unfortunately,” they remarked.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer launches personal TikTok with festive clip and three-word message
One minister also bluntly dismissed the new venture, saying: “It’s not about social media or needing to be on TikTok – it’s that they don’t have anything to say. We need a plan.” But No10 insiders believe the PM comes off best when he is chatting to families, kids or campaigners in more relaxed and natural settings. It’s the side of Mr Starmer they hope to show off on TikTok, which lends itself to short-form, quirky content.
One adviser said: “There’s no point repeating everything we do on other channels. People can see that on the news. We want to reveal what’s behind the door.”
Since the launch of No10’s New Media Unit last year, influencers and content creators have been invited to digital huddles and press conferences with Cabinet ministers. At Labour’s conference in September, the PM filmed clips with the “career ladder” man, Maksym Klymenko, who is famous on social media for guessing people’s jobs while standing on a ladder.
It is part of efforts to tap into new spaces and audiences of the online world, leading to the launch of the PM’s TikTok – a decision made months ago by No10. An internal review found 70% of government content is still posted on X, formerly Twitter, despite people across the country using a variety of platforms.
TikTok has maintained double digit year-on-year growth in the UK, up by 13% since last year, with some 56% of online adults using the app, largely driven by those aged 18-34. Mr Starmer currently has around 40,000 followers yet has still managed to get millions of views on his initial posts.
A former senior social media executive said TiKTok has huge benefits to politicians because it is not technically social media, but is a “content graph”. They told The Mirror: “It means what you see is related directly to how you engage the platform, not who you follow or what they share.
“That means that you can reach people who you just won’t get through other channels, essentially, because they’re people who might never see stuff that comes out of government or political parties. So it’s a real opportunity to reach new audiences and engage new audiences.”
Politicians across the world have found success on TikTok, a Chinese-owned social media app where users post short videos, including dances, viral challenges as well as more serious content. Reform’s Nigel Farage – who has 1.4million followers – remains miles ahead in his reach on the online site compared to other UK politicians. The Green Party’s new leader Zack Polanski, who has been praised for his media-savvy communication skills, has a fast growing 132,000 TikTok followers.
One senior No10 source said the PM’s team will be encouraging Cabinet ministers to download TikTok. Several advisers noted this as a change in position since entering Government, when No10 stuck with the Tories’ decision to shun the app, which remains blocked on government phones, amid security concerns over China.
Some Labour Cabinet ministers, including Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood are already on the app, with Mr Miliband in particular fond of viral on-trend videos. But it’s unlikely to be everyone’s cup of tea, as Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told The Mirror earlier this week. Asked if she’d be getting an account, she replied: “Absolutely not. This is not what the world needs.”
Polling guru Luke Tryl said the PM’s TikTok launch shows that being on different online platforms is no longer a choice but a “must-do”. The UK director at More in Common said: “I think it’s an acknowledgement that mainstream parties have been asleep behind the wheel when it comes to this stuff. They’ve taken too long to realise that if you’re not on a platform, you’re effectively ceding that platform to your opponents.”
He also said Labour is being “eaten for lunch” among young voters, amid the rise of Reform UK and the Greens. “Labour particularly needs young people because they’ve always been such a core part of the base,” he said. “And so if you’re not reaching them where they are, you’re going to lose them to other parties.”
But Mr Tryl also admitted there is a “big challenge” in normalising Mr Starmer. “When we speak to people, the sense that he’s this out-of-touch, former lawyer really has cut through, however fair or unfair that is, and this sense that he’s not an ordinary bloke,” Mr Tryl said.
“So I think a bit of this is trying to humanise him much more, to try and reconnect. The question is, and I think it’s an open question, is it too late? Are voters’ minds made up… or are people willing to start looking at him in a different light?”
