Tories’ Facebook adverts ‘are part of local campaign’

THE cost of Facebook advertisements paid for by the Conservative Party should be counted as part of a local campaign whenever a constituency is named, according to a group of activists.

But last night, despite a Supreme Court judgement which suggests that may be the case, the party was unable to confirm its position on the matter.

Conservative Party headquarters has paid for Facebook adverts which urge people in a number of named marginal seats across Britain to vote for their party.

In Wales, such adverts have been put on the Facebook pages of voters in Cardiff North, where Labour’s Anna McMorrin is defending the seat she took from the Conservatives in 2017 with a majority of 4,174.

The adverts state: “Vote Conservative in Cardiff North to avoid a gridlocked Parliament. Your vote has never been more important. Vote Conservative in Cardiff North to end the gridlock and get Parliament working for you again.”

They also display unflattering pictures of Jeremy Corbyn, Nicola Sturgeon and Jo Swinson against a backdrop of a broken Parliament.

There are separate election spending limits for individual candidates, based on a formula which includes a small sum per voter, and for national spending by political parties, which is much higher.

Candidates who exceed their spending limit can face prosecution and potential loss of office. Cardiff North voter Dr Dafydd Jones tweeted to the Electoral Commission: “Does Facebook post below from Conservatives that targets a constituency break election rules if funded from national funds? It clearly states it is targeting Cardiff North – my constituency. I didn’t request to be sent such information.”

A spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission said: “Candidates must follow certain rules about how much they can spend and what they must report after the election. Political parties also have spending limits for campaigning.”

A spokeswoman for the conservative Party said the party’s election agent in Cardiff North did not know whether the Facebook adverts paid for by Conservative Central Office were considered to be national spend or local spend.

Clarification was being sought.