New prime minister turns to influencers to reach voters

Andy Burnham plans to work with influencers and social media creators to get his message out, pushing political communication further away from traditional broadcast interviews and newspaper gatekeepers. The approach fits a media style that one Guardian profile said his allies praised as “a natural”; PR consultant Mark Borkowski said, “He’s a natural.”

The shift comes after Burnham won the Makerfield by-election on June 22 and returned to Westminster, a move that Tech Policy Press said had already pulled media and tech-policy questions into the way observers assessed him. That matters because the new prime minister is not just trying to be seen more often. He is choosing the people who will carry his message, and that changes who gets access, how the message is framed, and how much of the process voters can see.

Creators were already part of the political conversation around Burnham before the by-election. CORQ published coverage of creators following the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer and Burnham in the run-up to Makerfield, showing that political video and social-first commentary had already become part of the campaign ecosystem around him. Supporters see that as a faster and more authentic way to reach voters; critics argue that the same style can blur presentation and substance. An UnHerd essay took that line directly, saying Burnham’s social media game hides a lack of substance.

The transparency problem is not theoretical. On June 3, Full Fact fact checked a fake image circulating online that falsely claimed Burnham had said he would make Makerfield home for more asylum seekers. The image was generated by AI, and there were no credible reports that he had made the claim. That episode underscored how social-first politics can spread persuasive but false material at the same speed as ordinary campaign content.

Regulators have been pressing for clearer rules around that kind of digital campaigning. The Electoral Commission has said voters need social media companies to maintain online databases of political ads that provide meaningful transparency. For a leader leaning on influencers and creators, the line between organic support, paid promotion and political advertising becomes harder to track, especially when posts are tailored for specific platforms and audiences rather than delivered through open, public interviews.