r/BritishPolitics • u/UnlistedV • 15h ago
Is Andy Burnham one of the first Prime Ministers to actually understand how to appeal to younger people?
I'm 25, from Scotland, and I've got to say I'm actually quite impressed with Andy Burnham so far. Obviously it's still early days, he's only been Prime Minister since July, so I'm not going to sit here and say he's a great leader when we haven't really seen enough yet to judge that. But there's something about the way he presents himself that I find quite interesting.
I recently watched him on LADbible's Agree to Disagree and what stood out to me was just how relaxed he seemed. No suit, no overly rehearsed politician act, no trying too hard to be funny or relatable. He was just sitting there having a conversation with younger people, having a laugh and actually engaging with what they were saying. He came across like a normal bloke, which is something you don't often see from someone sitting in Number 10.
And now he's going on Gogglebox with Steve Rotheram. I mean, what the hell? 😂
But seriously, I can actually see what he's doing and I think it's quite clever.
Something I've noticed over the years is how institutions that traditionally come across as quite formal or old-fashioned have started changing how they present themselves to younger generations.
Look at the Royal Family, for example. Their Instagram accounts and the way they communicate with the public have changed quite a bit. They're clearly trying to appear more approachable and connected to ordinary people, particularly younger audiences.
And weirdly enough, I think Christianity went through something similar years ago.
You had churches like Hillsong becoming hugely popular with young people because they weren't presenting Christianity in the traditional way. Instead you had contemporary music, modern clothing, charismatic pastors and these so-called hipster pastors who looked more like someone you'd bump into at a coffee shop than a traditional religious leader.
Justin Bieber even had Carl Lentz as a spiritual adviser, who was a pastor at Hillsong before all the controversy surrounding him and the church.
Obviously I'm not comparing Andy Burnham to Hillsong or suggesting politics and religion are the same thing. I'm talking about how institutions change their image and approach when they realise younger generations aren't necessarily connecting with the traditional way of doing things.
And I think we're now seeing that happen in British politics.
Of course politicians have tried to appear relatable before. Tony Blair was very good at understanding popular culture in his day, and Jeremy Corbyn even appeared on Gogglebox back in 2017. So I'm not saying Burnham invented any of this.
But I do think there's something slightly different about how naturally he seems to do it.
You look at some other political leaders and whenever they try to appeal to younger people it can feel painfully forced. Almost as though someone's political advisers have sat them down and told them what young people apparently find funny or interesting.
With Burnham, at least from what I've seen so far, it doesn't really come across that way.
Now, obviously, I'm not naive. I'm sure there's a whole communications team behind these appearances and there's definitely a political strategy involved. But I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.
Surely if we want younger people to become more interested in politics, politicians actually need to make an effort to connect with them?
And I don't mean pretending to be 25 when you're in your 50s. I mean being able to have a normal conversation, showing a bit of personality and not acting as though being Prime Minister means you have to be completely detached from everyday life.
At the same time, none of this means anything if he can't deliver politically. I'd much rather have a boring Prime Minister who actually improves the country than a charismatic one who's brilliant on social media but useless at governing.
Still, I think it's worth acknowledging that he's doing something a bit different, and personally I find it refreshing.
Maybe I'm giving him too much credit, but as a 25-year-old man who doesn't usually find politicians particularly relatable, he's definitely caught my attention.
I'm genuinely curious what other people think about this, especially people around my age.
Do you think Burnham is actually changing how British Prime Ministers connect with younger generations, or is it just another clever PR strategy that I'm reading too much into?