Andy Burnham's plan to collaborate with social media creators

Image source, Megan Cassidy Image caption, Young Labour supporters whose TikToks took them to Downing Street By Emilia Belli Political reporter Published 23 July 2026, 09:01 BST Updated Just now Andy Burnham is a past master at using social media to create a political brand - and it seems he has no plans to let up now that he is prime minister. One Downing Street source told the BBC they planned to take a "more social first" and "authentic to Andy" approach, with "less high production, polished" content than might have been seen from a prime minister in the past. This means we can expect more clips of Burnham in casual mode, chatting into a handheld phone or answering questions on policy in an apparently spontaneous fashion on X, Instagram or TikTok. There will also be a focus on collaborations with social media creators. In an earlier age, political leaders liked to court TV stars and other celebrities to help get their message out. Now the Holy Grail is online influencers, who are seen as more authentic, and trusted, by hard-to-reach voters who don't watch much TV or read newspapers. Sir Keir Starmer's government had already begun experimenting with giving access to influencers, with ministers appearing on some of the more popular channels. Downing Street also held receptions for influencers and during Tim Allan's tenure as director of communications content creators were invited to Downing Street press conferences. Some critics saw this is a way of avoiding serious scrutiny of polices in favour of softball questions from non-specialists. But Burnham's advisers see collaborations with influencers as a way of getting the government's message to audiences it might not normally reach. A Downing Street source said "the vast majority" of the public will not see or interact with content that is coming from government or the prime minister's social media channels. Image caption, Andy Burnham appeared on influencer Max Klymenko's 'career ladder' on his first day as PM In the hours before and after becoming prime minister, Burnham co-authored two posts on TikTok and Instagram, including a running video with Sir Mo Farah. Young TikTokers were also invited to Downing Street to thank them for their work on his Makerfield by-election campaign. One of the social channels Sir Keir Starmer appeared on was run by Ukrainian online personality Max Klymenko, who won TikTok Creator of the year for his viral "The Career Ladder" series, where he quizzes people about their job history. Klymenko was first approached by Burnham's team around two months ago to collaborate on content. His team filmed the video quizzing the former Greater Manchester mayor on his first job, before he entered politics, a week ago, then planned to post it on his first day as prime minister to capitalise on the buzz. The creator's core audience are aged 18 to 24, according to his team, while the majority of people who watch his content are aged between 25 and 30. A member of his team pointed o