Is Starmer playing the long game?

The Prime Minister sat down with Laura Kuenssberg on BBC One for 45 minutes - one of the longest political interviews British audiences have seen in recent years. In a media landscape increasingly shaped by TikTok clips and shareable soundbites, choosing long form felt almost counterintuitive. But the length wasn’t the only thing that stood out. It also signalled something bigger - a communications reset taking shape inside Downing Street.

So far, much of the conversation around government comms has focused on shorter form experimentation. There has been plenty of chatter about No.10 working with content creators and chasing platforms like TikTok, including inviting the content creator Newswithchris to attend an event with the Prime Minister. Keir Starmer himself joined TikTok before Christmas.

This move, however, wasn’t about abandoning short form content altogether. It was about broadening the mix. Audiences are increasingly fragmented, consuming news in very different ways. And after a bumpy 2025, Labour is clearly trying to shake things up and reach a wider range of audiences in new, more engaging ways.

So why lean into long form now? The numbers help. Ofcom data shows time spent on YouTube rose in 2025, with users averaging 51 minutes a day, up from 47 minutes the year before. Podcast listenership in the UK has been increasing year on year, reaching an estimated 15.5 million listeners in 2025. People still love to scroll, but the data shows audiences will engage with content that feels meaningful or interesting, even for extended periods.

In that context, No.10’s move was a calculated gamble. An unscripted 45-minute interview could easily have gone wrong if he had ended up under sustained pressure on a pain point. Starmer was clearly keen to frame the start of 2026, using the interview as a way to reassert his leadership. But more than that, the interview signalled a desire to explain rather than simply react - a less rehearsed presence.

When done well, longer interviews bring real advantages - the ability to build trust and relevance. Forty-five minutes of content can also be broken down into dozens of 20 second clips, each travelling far beyond the original audience - some good, some bad and it’s an important part of the risk analysis when planning an intervention.

So, is long form back in fashion? The answer is both yes and no. Expect a mixed approach from No.10 going forward. Like many businesses, government won’t choose between short or long - they will need both. Short content to grab attention, long content to build credibility. Critically, this is not just a political trend: while business news is squeezed in traditional newspapers, there are a growing number of business-focused podcasts and LinkedIn has rapidly overtaken Twitter/X as the social network to share ideas.

And the real challenge ahead will be choosing platforms and formats that encourage people to truly engage, rather than just letting content play in the background.