By the next General Election, 16- and 17-year-olds could be voting in nationwide elections. This would introduce digitally native voters into the electorate: Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, are set to become an increasingly important political audience. For political parties, the challenge is no longer simply what to say to younger voters, but where and how you reach them. The medium has become the message.

The UK’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has arrived in Downing Street with a ‘social-first’ approach that is said to be ‘less polished’ and more ‘authentic’ to Burnham. This reflects the new reality of political campaigning: there is a newer, younger base to target, and they aren’t engaging with politics through the evening news or morning papers. Instead, they reach for digital content accessible at their fingertips.

So, the recent announcement on cutting business rates for pubs and clubs was accompanied by a post featuring the PM and incoming Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey ranking their top pub snacks.

Personality has so far been a winning strategy for Andy Burnham with millennials and Gen X, but what will that look like as a strategy for Gen Z in a crowded and fragmented digital environment already dominated by Labour’s opponents, notably on the right?

A new generation, a new media landscape

Political campaigns have always gone where voters are. Once, this meant knocking on doors and dominating the evening news. Today, it’s earning the attention of millions of scrollers on their For You Page.

Younger voters are more likely to engage with the news through social platforms, creators, and short-form video than older audiences. Meanwhile, audiences for traditional campaign events have contracted. Viewing figures for televised leaders’ debates fell from a peak of 7.4 million in 2015 to around 2.1 million in 2024. Meanwhile, YouGov poll data found that 50% of people aged 18 to 24 consume news through social media.

The parties have adapted differently. Reform UK and its leader, Nigel Farage, for example, have become prolific social posters, generating high engagement numbers on channels like TikTok, Instagram and X to propagate their policies and target youthful audiences.

The Greens have used social media to amplify issue-led messages on housing and climate. During the 2024 General Election, they took to TikTok to turn detailed policy pledges into short, accessible content designed to connect with younger voters. The Greens’ growing appeal was particularly visible among younger voters, with 26% of 18-24-year-olds voted for the part in 2024, helping them to win a record 4 seats in Parliament.

The UK’s two largest parties were slower to adapt in 2024. In contrast to the vocal and confident digital presences of Reform and the Greens, Labour made some attempts to combine polished messaging with memes, short-form videos and digital advertising. Meanwhile the then-governing Conservative Party’s attempts at building a digital persona faltered, exemplified by the failed digital launch of Rishi Sunak’s proposal to introduce compulsory national service for 18-year-olds. #Fail.

‘Social-first’ political campaigning

As he steps into his new role at the helm of the country, Burnham looks to be learning from the minority parties.

According to recent reports, Burnham’s advisers plan to produce casual, handheld clips, spontaneous-looking policy answers and collaborations across TikTok, Instagram, and X. On his first day as PM, Burnham appeared in Max Klymenko’s viral Career Ladder series and in a running video with Sir Mo Farrah.

The numbers do the talking. Klymenko’s core audience is aged 18 to 24, and his total following across platforms exceeds 16 million. Farah’s content reached his audience of approximately 3 million, beyond Burnham’s personal channels. Young Labour activists, aged between 17 and 19, have also been producing memes, edits and trend-led videos intended to feel native to TikTok rather than repackaged from television.

This approach recognises that official accounts cannot reach everyone. Creators act as intermediaries, bringing political messages into communities that may rarely interact with government communications. Supporters also describe Burnham as naturally informal and comfortable with spontaneous content.

When visibility becomes a liability

Of course, social media can strengthen success – but it can amplify mistakes just as rapidly. The 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election offers a warning. Reform candidate Matt Goodwin attracted widespread criticism for his paradoxical domestic and foreign policy takes; he ultimately finished second to Green candidate, now-MP, Hannah Spencer, who won 40.7% of the vote share compared to Goodwin’s 28.7%.

PollCheck’s demographic model estimates that the Greens performed more strongly across the younger Manchester wards, while Reform led in the few older Denton wards. However, PollCheck cautions that local campaigning, candidate profiles and tactical voting cannot be fully captured.

While these statistics cannot prove that Goodwin’s viral controversies caused this defeat, it illustrates the underlying reputational risk of digital campaigning: once past remarks are clipped, shared and interpreted online, candidates lose control of the overall party narrative, the exact message trying to be conveyed, and its context. Policy loses any sharp edges it once had. Incorporating AI-generated media or deepfakes into this equation results in a recipe for disaster for political campaigners. The same platforms that create prominence and support engagement can turn scrutiny into a campaign-defining liability.

Turning reach into political support

Burnham’s opportunity is to combine these approaches: retain the credibility of an established figure in older generations while adopting the speed, charisma and platform awareness associated with disruptor parties.

Burnham’s social-first strategy recognises that political parties are no longer competing solely with one another, but with creators, algorithms, and an endless stream of online content for voters’ attention. Yet visibility alone will not secure Gen Z support. The real test is not only whether Burnham can deploy this newfound digital communications approach to explain policy, withstand scrutiny and build lasting trust, but perfect the strategy to implement on elections to come. Importantly, in the next few years, the oldest of Gen Alpha, born between 2010 and 2024, will be coming of age, even more digitally entrenched than their predecessors.

As younger voters become a larger share of the electorate, successful campaigning will depend less on who generates the most views and more on who can turn digital attention into informed political participation. Burnham may have reached Downing Street with the support of older generations, but succeeding where his predecessors failed will require him to turn Gen Z’s attention to trust – and trust into a national electoral mandate.

Clients running campaigns will need to pay ever closer attention to how they reach this rising generation. Communications strategies, crisis management and public affairs campaigns will fall flat if they lack the proper channel strategy. Early analysis of your audiences and how they acquire information will be more critical than ever.