In a little noticed coup, the Conservatives quietly raised the campaign spending limit by 80 per cent – money that is bound to be funnelled into online ad campaigns, writes Lucy Kenningham
If you haven’t been targeted with political ads already, be prepared. Messers Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer will be popping up to invade your feed imminently, and more tenaciously than ever before.
That’s down to two thing. One, social media advertising has leapfrogged over billboard erection and leafleting to become the modus operandi of political campaigning – it is predicted to account for a third of all campaign spending this election. Two, the campaign spending cap was raised by 80 per cent in November last year. This limit applies to party spending during the 365 days before polling day – and applies retrospectively in case of a snap election.
This staggering increase – upping the limit from £19.5m to £35m – was not voted on by MPs. Since 2010, the government has had a statutory duty to raise the limit in line with inflation – or explain why it’s not doing so. The UK’s election watchdog, the Electoral Commission,........