Faraday Gamble-Gittings
It’s a Bank Holiday, and the sun is attempting to shine as I click onto TikTok. I watch the first video on my For You Page (FYP): it’s a meme, courtesy of the Labour Party’s official page. It’s titled ‘POV: Rishi Sunak turning up on your 18th birthday to send you to war’ over a clip of British Icon, Cilla Black, singing ‘Surprise Surprise’.
On further inspection, approximately five of Labour’s TikToks in the past 24 hours have been a dig at Sunak’s intention to introduce national service. These videos all feature iconic and viral sounds, like Louis Spence’s ‘They’ll have to catch me first. I’m like a whippet’. The Conservative party’s TikTok account isn’t much better, with mock ‘threat reviews’ of Labour MPs, and chatty clips of Sunak responding to comments about his controversial national service plan.
@uklabour If the Tories don’t think Rishi Sunak’s plan is working – why should you? #generalelection #ukelection #ukpolitics #britishpolitics #rishisunak
The Growth of TikTok as a Political Tool
The use of TikTok to discuss, mock and disseminate politics is not a new phenomenon. We’ve seen the platform used to raise thousands of pounds for humanitarian efforts in Gaza, support the Black Lives Matter movement and even discuss the overturning of Roe v. Wade in America last year. TikTok has developed beyond its identity as a site for dancing videos and slime challenges, with reports even suggesting that Gen-Z use it as a search engine, favouring it over Google and other such sites.
The 18-24 age range historically has had turbulent youth turnout for voting in the country. But since the advent of social media, youth engagement has seen an unsteady rise. As the political landscape has shifted in tandem with the popularity of sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, so too has youth engagement with social issues. This exploded post-Covid, as TikTok crashed onto the scene alongside economic and social ruin from the pandemic.
TikTok is the hot new forum for young people to discuss this decade’s tribulations. The so-called ‘cozzie-livs’. Rising racism. The reversal of women’s rights across the supposedly progressive Western world. The war currently raging in Gaza and Ukraine. A lot of this discussion, particularly around the conflict in Gaza, has been the result of politically minded influencers on TikTok who make use of the digestible short-form format. But five years ago when TikTok was still in its infancy, the site was only a platform for viral dances and recipe videos. As such, the 2019 general election seemed unable to impact young voters in the way it can now.
Are Politicians Out of Touch?
“These humorous videos simply serve to dilute the gravity of the issues they’re discussing, reducing them to a viral audio or mundane clips with minimal views.”
On the surface, these videos may seem like the perfect way for parties to engage with younger voters. Instead, they highlight the divide between the current political elite and the young population of the UK. Gen-Z, many of whom couldn’t vote in the last election, find themselves faced with only two viable voting options. Two options who, in terms of policy, don’t seem to have their interests in mind. The Labour Party’s TikTok account is a sloppy attempt to connect to what they believe is an apathetic younger generation.
@uklabour it’s time for change #generalelection #ukelection #ukpolitics #toriesout #votelabour
This half-hearted attempt to connect with younger voters just demonstrates why informative and personable politically-focused influencers are so popular. The information and education from content creators with far larger followings and reach is valuable to a generation of voters who may otherwise feel excluded. Voters, whatever age and in whatever context, clearly want real information and facts. These humorous videos simply serve to dilute the gravity of the issues they’re discussing, reducing them to a viral audio or mundane clips with minimal views.
Is TikTok the route to battling distrust?
These clips, while humorous, lack any real information or education. They only strengthen the distrust of politicians amongst voters, as they patronise the young by remaining ambiguous about their own policies. It’s no wonder that voters turn to influencers over the political parties that are supposed to be representing them. What do they expect from putting more effort into making graphics on Canva for their TikTok videos than properly explaining their policies?
“We look to the ruling elite to represent and inform, not for viral memes and social media trends.”
As demonstrated by the ‘Youthquake’ (an unexpected upturn in youth votes for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour in 2017), politicians and parties need to be targeting younger voters in the spaces they use. But they need to do this as politicians, not TikTok audios. We look to the ruling elite to represent and inform, not for viral memes and social media trends. The focus should be on breaking down their proposed policies into informative content, not soundbites and TikTok videos that leave voters even more unsure of who their options are.
Whilst social media is a significant tool, Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems need to remember they’re attempting to convince the voters why they are the best choice to run our entire country. Not why they should be named ‘most creative’ or ‘class clown’ in the school yearbook.
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Featured image courtesy of The Conservative Party on Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image licence found here.
Faraday Gamble-Gittings
I am a fashion writer and stylist. I love anything travel and have an obsession with Hummus. I have written for Fashion North, Luxe magazine, Sunderland Vibe and the Telegraph.