Andy Burnham was formally announced as Labour leader on 17 July 2026, making him the incoming prime minister. The day before, on 16 July, he posted a TikTok video to share his personal likes and dislikes The Guardian. The video, titled "This or that with Andy 👀" and posted on his official TikTok account @andy.burnham, uses the hashtags #ukpolitics and #thisorthat to run through a series of quick, light-hearted questions about his preferences TikTok.

The video covers topics like tea, Christmas dinner, and queueing. On the big British tea debate, Burnham said he is a "milk-first man," meaning he pours milk into the cup before the tea The Guardian. A viewer comment on the video pointed out another notable preference: Burnham does not have Yorkshire puddings on his Christmas dinner TikTok.

The Guardian covered the story on 17 July 2026, calling Burnham "the incoming prime minister," "the new prime minister," and "the next prime minister." The newspaper also linked to a separate report from the same day about the formal Labour-leader announcement The Guardian.

The broader context here is how politicians use social media to reach people. TikTok is a short-video app where an algorithm — a system that picks which videos to show users based on what gets likes, comments, and shares — decides what appears on your feed. A "this or that" video is built for that system. It encourages people to respond with their own videos or comment with their own choices, which keeps the video spreading to more users. By posting this the day before the formal announcement, Burnham made sure his personality was front and center in the news cycle around the leadership transition.

The milk-before-tea debate and the question of whether Yorkshire puddings belong on a Christmas dinner are the kind of everyday British topics that get people talking and arguing. When a politician picks a side on these issues, it invites the audience to join in. That is exactly what happened with the viewer comment about Yorkshire puddings. The conversation carried on beyond the original post, which is what social media platforms are designed to encourage.

Burnham's account @andy.burnham had already posted a "This or that" video on 17 June 2026, so this was not a one-time event but part of an ongoing pattern TikTok. The 16 July video follows the same format, but the stakes are different now that Burnham is moving from party leader to incoming prime minister.

What does this mean for the transition? Using TikTok as a main way to communicate at the moment of a leadership announcement shows a continued shift in how British political leaders reach the public. The format, the timing, and the content choices all point to a strategy where social-media engagement is treated as a core part of political leadership, not just an add-on. The topics may be light, but the approach tells us something real about how the incoming prime minister plans to connect with people at the start of his time in office.