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Prime ministers

Tories Splurge on Facebook Ads as Election Campaign Ramps Up

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party has dramatically increased spending on Facebook ads in recent months, outpacing former US President Donald Trump's campaign in 2016. The spending spree comes as the Tories quietly raised the amount they can spend on campaigning to £35 million, nearly doubling the previous limit. This has raised concerns among democracy campaigners and the Electoral Commission, which oversees UK elections, that the changes risk damaging the transparency of political donations and public confidence in elections.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Tories have spent over £104,500 on Rishi Sunak's Facebook page in the last month, exceeding the former US President's spending of £87,229 over the same period.
  • Labour spent £26,399 on ads for their main Facebook page and £4,436 on Keir Starmer's page in December.
  • The Tories have increased their spending on Facebook ads to up to £15,000 a day, targeting a million Facebook users at a time.
  • The changes to the spending limit, which were introduced by statutory instrument, have been criticized by democracy campaigners and the Electoral Commission.
  • Rishi Sunak's spending on Facebook ads is expected to continue to increase as the election campaign ramps up.
  • The Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson, Christine Jardine MP, has stated that no matter how much money Sunak pours into his campaign, it will not reverse the mess the Tories have made.
  • Sam Jeffers of campaign group Who Targets Me has warned that the higher spending limit could allow the Tories to maintain their current level of spending and still have headroom for door-to-door campaigning, direct mail ads, and election battle buses.

Statistics:

  • The Tories have spent over £104,500 on Rishi Sunak's Facebook page in the last month.
  • Labour spent £26,399 on ads for their main Facebook page and £4,436 on Keir Starmer's page in December.
  • The Tories have increased their spending on Facebook ads to up to £15,000 a day, targeting a million Facebook users at a time.
  • The changes to the spending limit have increased the threshold for declaring individual donations from £7,500 to £11,180.
  • The Conservative Party declared some £43 million in registrable donations in the year to October 2023.
  • Labour attracted £29.4 million in donations during the same period.
  • Smaller parties, including the Liberal Democrats and the SNP, have declared much lower amounts in donations.

Sources:

  • The Guardian
  • Press Association
  • Electoral Commission records
  • Electoral Reform Society

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