‘I became obsessed’: New Labour psychodrama grips TikTok teenagers | Labour

This summer, TikTok has been revisiting very public, deeply personal and sometimes toxic feuds from the 1990s.

And it is not just the Gallagher brothers – another psychodrama has taken hold: the rivalry between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Videos dedicated to New Labour’s heyday are booming on the social media platform, posted by teens who were not even born then.

The most viral examples splice together archival footage and quotes about the era, set to hit soundtracks from current pop artists such as Chappell Roan – who was born a year after Labour won its 1997 landslide.

Popular videos from the New Labour revival include montages detailing the rivalry between Blair and his chancellor – peppered with fiery excerpts from Andrew Rawnsley’s book The End of the Party – to the backing of songs such as Charli xcx’s Girl, So Confusing and Radiohead’s Let Down.

Fan culture in politics has become increasingly popular, as a younger generation of digital natives reach voting age. Last summer, lime-green videos of Kamala Harris with songs from Charli xcx’s smash album Brat went viral on X and TikTok, leading to mainstream conversations about “brat summer” on CNN and Fox News.

For 18-year-old Ellen, who runs the account @politicsprincess, the clips – or “edits”, in social media jargon – allow her to combine her interests of trawling video archives and pop culture.

One of Ellen’s most popular posts, which has 130,000 views, pairs tightly edited clips from the 1997 Labour party campaign with Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj’s Beauty and the Beat. The John Prescott punch, photos of Blair gazing over at Brown and even Saddam Hussein (to the lyric “beauty from the East”) all feature in the highlights reel.

“I just became completely fascinated and obsessed with these people,” says Ellen. “What attracts me to it … these complex human relationships.”

However, she adds: “Most people understand that editing doesn’t equal endorsement.”

Charlie, who runs another New Labour-centric account, says she was engrossed by the “Blair-Brown-Mandelson-Campbell psychodrama”, referencing the arch-Labour strategists Peter Mandelson and Alastair Campbell – who have also become part of third way folklore.

Ellen and Charlie asked for their surnames to be withheld.

Edits, or fanvids, are short, modified videos that remix existing clips which are then overlaid with music, often to show appreciation for – or to satirise – a person or artwork.

Dr Lucy Bennett, a media lecturer at Cardiff University, said the edits also show how “political messaging is being increasingly processed through fan remix culture”.

Many of the New Labour edit creators are aged between 17 and 21, and did not directly experience the New Labour era. Often A-level politics students, their introduction to that period of government comes from documentaries or archived footage shown in classrooms.

“Lolitics”, the term for internet political fandoms, exists predominantly on Tumblr, X and TikTok. Users in the community create memes, videos and images about political figures and events, applying the language and practices of fan culture to politics with tongue-in-cheek whimsy.

Past examples of this content include the “Milifandom” of the early 2010s, a celebration of the then Labour party leader Ed Miliband. Users created endearments such as “Milibae” and Photoshopped images of Miliband in flower crowns.

Political figures born in analogue times are taking note. During their live shows, The Rest Is Politics podcast hosts Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart played TikTok posts made about them to the audience – including a montage of them with Casual by Chappell Roan playing in the background.

“Most of the TikTok spoofs that The Rest Is Politics seems to have spawned are broadly affectionate in nature,” Campbell said. “So, whilst often satirical, they in many ways help to ventilate support for the ‘disagree agreeably’ approach we are trying to take.”

Stewart and Campbell watching the edit was “pure insanity” for its creator, Charlie, whose posts have garnered more than 1m likes. The podcast was Charlie’s gateway into studying New Labour history. “I then read the Alastair Campbell diaries – all eight volumes, by the way – and my jaw was on the floor.”

She adds that a “slight nostalgia” for New Labour is common in the community. “The contrast of what came before and after makes it seem like one of our better periods of government in recent history.”

For young people reaching voting age, their only exposure to politics has been the “disconcerting unpredictability” of the 2010s, says Stephen Coleman, professor of political communication at the University of Leeds.

“What I think they are doing is recovering a historical image of a different kind of politics. You did have improvements in the NHS, introduction of devolution, peace in Northern Ireland – big structural things.”

He adds: “I think the problem Keir Starmer is facing is people have lost touch with what it means to do normal politics.”

Tales behind the fanvids

The Gallagher brothers

• Biggest hit Wonderwall tops the Oasis charts on Spotify with 2.4bn streams and was one of the standout tracks on the band’s second album – (What’s the story) Morning Glory? – which has sold more than 22m copies worldwide.

• Most famous row A backstage fight between Liam and Noel shortly before going on stage at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris in 2009 led to the band breaking up for nearly 16 years.

• Legacy Oasis are widely considered the kings of Britpop. Their musical legacy runs through many bands such as Fontaines DC, Kasabian and Arctic Monkeys.

• Bandmates Alongside the Gallagher brothers, the original Oasis lineup comprised Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs on guitar, Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan on bass guitar and Tony McCarroll on drums.

• Famous fans Lewis Capaldi, Tom Cruise and Dua Lipa – to name but a few. And the entire Manchester City squad.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown

• Biggest hit Labour winning a 179-seat majority at the 1997 general election after 18 years of Conservative rule.

• Most famous row Brown saying to Blair: “There is nothing that you could say to me now that I could ever believe,” according to Robert Peston’s biography of the chancellor.

• Legacy Securing a peace deal in Northern Ireland with the Good Friday agreement, devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Sure Start childcare scheme.

• Bandmates Back-up vocalist Ed Miliband (went solo after a few years) and unifier Harriet Harman who served in both cabinets. They were followed by a rhythm section of Alastair Campbell and Brown adviser Ed Balls. All overseen by band manager Peter Mandelson – who is enjoying a comeback over in the US.

• Famous fans Fellow third way-er and former US president Bill Clinton, Tory successor David Cameron and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer.