Andy Burnham has admitted he cares less than previous prime ministers about what right-wing media outlets such as the Sun and Daily Mail think about him.
Ever since moving into Number 10 Downing Street, Burnham has made clear he is going to try and do things differently when it comes to his messaging and communication strategy.
One of the main ways this has shown itself is in the Labour leader’s use of TikTok to share videos about policy – and also more lighthearted content on pub snacks.
This hasn’t gone down well with some, who have accused Burnham of not taking a serious enough approach to his role.
But the prime minister has now defended his social media strategy – and taken a swipe at the traditional right wing outlets in the British media that were so successful in bringing down his predecessor Keir Starmer.
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In an interview with ITV News to mark his first 100 days in office, Burnham was asked what his response would be to people who say he shouldn’t be doing light-hearted TikTok videos.
Burnham said he was simply trying to connect with people more through different channels, adding: “We used to have a laugh in this country didn’t we?”
He was then asked by journalist Daniel Hewitt: “Is it also a sign that you care less than your predecessors about what the traditional media say about you, what the Daily Mail, what the Sun write about you?”
Burnham responded: “Oh, definitely. I left Westminster for a reason. I got fed up with commentators deciding things down there and then the whole word [is] meant to believe what they believe.
“I’m sorry, but the world’s not like that anymore.”
Earlier this year, there were reports that Burnham would limit the Sun’s access to him by refusing to grant them any exclusive interviews or requests for published articles.
This marked a significant change of tack to Starmer, who often gave exclusive interviews to the right-wing paper.
It was reported that a factor in this was that Burnham still harbours animosity towards the publication, following their coverage of the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster.
You can read more about that here.
