When the pressure’s on, Westminster still turns to X

Reports of X’s demise have been widespread in recent months. Plenty of Parliamentarians have been openly hostile to the platform in recent months, describing it as lawless and sometimes the worst of social media whilst urging the Government to rethink its reliance on it. Concerns about moderation, tone and the app’s ownership regularly surface in debates and committee sessions. Some MPs have even floated the idea of official communications shifting elsewhere and even the PM flirted with a boycott just weeks ago in the row over Grok.

And yet, when political pressure bites, instinct takes over and the Westminster bubble looks to one outlet. When the Prime Minister needed visible Cabinet unity this week, the fastest way to project it wasn’t via a formal press statement or carefully staged lobby briefing. It was a coordinated burst of supportive posts on X. Why? Because that’s where Westminster still looks first and it’s the app we were all furiously refreshing for most of the week.

More than 90% of MPs maintain accounts on the platform, and the vast majority use it regularly to broadcast to their constituents what they are working on, engage journalists and signal their political position on a topic or debate.

While UK user numbers have dipped slightly year-on-year, the platform still reaches tens of millions nationally — and, crucially, almost everyone in the political and media bubble. It’s also why operational businesses such as train companies, utilities and others might want to leave but know it’s really hard to do so while their customers need somewhere to get live updates.

For all the criticism, X remains the village noticeboard: imperfect, noisy, occasionally unruly — but still the place where immediate news, insight and Westminster gossip travels fastest. Until that village noticeboard moves to a new platform all at once, X is going to be around for a while.