Luke Evans is a Conservative MP and the sixth-most followed UK politician on TikTok, with around 52,000 followers, making him the most followed Conservative MP on the platform. Only about 10% of Conservative MPs use TikTok compared with nearly 25% of Labour MPs. TikTok is Britain's fastest-growing news source: Ofcom finds 11% of UK adults use it for news, while 30% of 12–15-year-olds use it and 12% cite it as their main source. The government banned TikTok on government devices in 2023 over concerns about the platform's Chinese owners and data handling. Populist figures on both right and left maintain large followings on the platform.
You've got to be where the electorate are, Evans told the Guardian. This is one of the biggest apps that is used across the country and across the word. I think it's right to be there, to be talking to people. And from a party political point of view, if you're crowded out and you're not speaking to people, that space will get filled. Hearing 20% of someone versus nothing from someone else is huge.
Only 10% of Conservative MPs use TikTok, according to a recent Guardian analysis, compared with nearly 25% of their Labour colleagues. In 2023, Rishi Sunak's government banned TikTok on government devices because of concerns over how the platform's Chinese owners would treat user data. In comparison, those on the populist right and left are far more active on the platform chief among them Nigel Farage, who has 1.3 million followers.
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