Suella Braverman and TikTok: Votes in this election should be more than just clicking 'like'

It’s less sweet, and less fun in its current iteration. It’s been, shall we say, appropriated by Suella Braverman in order to promote her election campaign for the Fareham and Waterlooville seat, and after her bad lip-synching (perhaps she was outlining her next plan to criminalise the homeless, but it was thought best to dub over that), and some electro music, she is seen strutting in front of acolytes holding election posters, before there is a rough cut to a, yes, union flag. And it ends. Just as a reminder, Braverman has been Home Secretary, arguably the third most important role in the land, twice. She’s been an MP since 2015.

Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way. Yes, politicians will and frankly should use all means of communication to reach people. Yes, after TikTok’s explosion in recent years, it was always going to feature heavily in this poll. And yes, not all political communication should be like PMQs or stuffed-shirted Westminster Hall speeches. And yes, in a more informative way, Suella has used another TikTok to explain the boundary changes in south Hampshire which have seen Waterlooville added to Fareham this time out.

But what does this “Orlando” buffoonery add to the world? What does this tell us about Suella? What does this tell us about electioneering in 2024?

Ed Davey and the Lib Dems have had jolly japes so far this time with the leader’s campaign looking an adventure holiday with inflatable pillows, waterskis and assault courses now a daily occurrence. They have struck a deal in which doing some daft stunts gets them airtime to talk about policies, which is fair enough. Ed looks like he’s enjoying it, but the message is there to be scrutinised.

The world of TikTok and so on is a much shadier one. Thirty seconds of dance music and jerky editing, and you’re a world away from the secretary of state who all-but-incited a riot on Remembrance Sunday and gave encouragement to far-right mobs who came to “defend” the Cenotaph from a pro-Palestinian march which had little interest in gong near it. She accused police of “bias” - a cardinal sin for someone in that position.

And it would be easy to forget that in some rage tweeting, also last autumn, she suggested that charities should be banned from handing out tents to the homeless, while claiming that living on the streets was a “lifestyle choice”. TikTok is a way of gloss-coating a personality, and the nature of the medium means videos and statements on there are not challenged in the same way that those on Facebook or X, both of which are far more two-way streets, are. We must resist this idle watching, and make sure that people still have their brains switched on when interrogating those who, let’s remember, we charge with improving our country and our lives. That’s where the votes should, and not to those who adopt whichever meme is the most popular that week. But the same message goes to politicians - do not take the simple way. Your job is more important than that. Be better. This vote means more to all of us than just clicking ‘like’.