Andy Burnham is spending up to £1m a year on expanding No 10’s social media operation, The i Paper can reveal, as the Prime Minister tries to connect with audiences on TikTok and Instagram.

The Cabinet Office advertised 13 roles in July focused on social video and online content, ranging from a social videographer on £37,922 to a head of social creative and production on £80,342.

Combined, the salaries for these roles range from £617,246 to £731,933 a year, depending on where in each pay band successful candidates are appointed.

However, once the civil service pension and employer national insurance are included, the total cost to the taxpayer for all these roles rises to between £878,899 and £1,044,014 a year.

Burnham’s dedication to promoting the Government’s work on social media has been celebrated by Labour colleagues, after his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer was criticised for a lack of communication skills while prime minister.

While some MPs think investing in social media is the right approach, his opponents have warned that being Prime Minister isn’t about “shooting flashy videos” and posing for photographs.

Burnham’s selfie-style campaign videos have also been condemned as a “waste of time” by the public, with one particular clip, in which he discussed the correct term for a bread roll, sparking debate.

But the move will be crucial to taking on Reform leader Nigel Farage, whose use of social media is credited with helping boost his and his party’s profile. As it stands, Farage is more popular online than the Prime Minister, with 1.5 million TikTok followers compared with Burnham’s 585,000.

A Government spokesperson said: “Today’s media landscape is unrecognisable compared to even a decade ago, and the way the public receives information and communicates has changed drastically in this time.”

They added that the Government “has a duty to engage with the public where they are, using channels and voices they trust” to ensure citizens can access the services, information and support they need.

The new social media roles sit inside the Government Media Unit, a division of the Government Communication Service within the Cabinet Office, established in April 2026.

According to its own job listings, the unit is intended to help the Government “reach, connect and rebuild trust” with the public through direct, platform-native content rather than traditional press office channels.

Several roles are explicitly tied to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Reels, with successful candidates expected to translate Government policy into short-form content.

The recruitment drive comes as Burnham’s own social media performance has sharply outpaced that of his predecessor.

Since joining TikTok in May, Burnham has posted 200 times, almost double the number Sir Keir Starmer posted in total between joining the platform in December 2025 and standing down as Prime Minister in July 2026.

Burnham has also overtaken Starmer in reach. In his first 90 days on the platform, Starmer received 59.3 million views, against Burnham’s 78.1 million.

Burnham has gained 569,000 followers and 7.9 million likes since joining, compared with 338,100 followers and 5.7 million likes for Starmer.

His Instagram following has also grown sharply since he took office, hitting 752,000 followers across 264 posts – up 145,554 in the last 30 days alone, according to analytics site Social Blade. The account has an average engagement rate of 3.1 per cent, with individual posts drawing anywhere from around 10,000 likes to a viral outlier of 830,000.

Starmer’s Instagram, by contrast, has 852,000 followers built up over 3,310 posts – a total accumulated across roughly two years in office, compared with the few months Burnham has taken to reach three-quarters of that following.

Labour colleagues celebrate investment

The new approach has already proved popular among Labour MPs. One told The i Paper: “I think the social media side is great.” Burnham’s just got that touch when it comes to communication. I’ve already had constituents tell me they like what they’re hearing. We’re getting way more cut-through already.”

Mark McVitie, a Labour strategist, also praised the approach. Speaking to this newspaper, he said: “It’s just a fact that the vast majority of the public is learning and seeking information online, and particularly via short-form video, not through legacy media.

“An investment like this is a no-brainer for any serious Government in 2026, particularly given the dire need to rebuild faith in politics and the state.”

Burnham has also collaborated with influencers including Max Klymenko, for his “Career Ladder” series, and Sir Mo Farah, whose “Run With Mo” video featuring the Prime Minister reached three million followers across platforms.

However, some are wary of this approach. Steph Driver, the former No 10 director of communications under Starmer, has warned against treating influencers as “media stakeholders” on an equal footing with journalists.

In a recent paper for the Institute for Government, she said doing so risks “trading long-term systemic accountability for short-term vanity metrics”.

Mike Wood, a shadow Cabinet Office minister, also questioned the scale of the spending by Burnham. He told The i Paper: “Being Prime Minister isn’t about shooting flashy videos and posing for photographs. It’s about confronting the serious challenges facing our country.”

“Instead of spending all this taxpayers’ money on his own comms, Andy Burnham should focus on concrete actions.”