Rise of digital politics: why UK parties spend big on Facebook

Online advertising is an effective way to get messages across, but the strategy must be smart

Figures released this week by the Electoral Commission are the simplest way to demonstrate the growing influence of Facebook on British politics. Political parties nationally spent about 1.3m on Facebook during the 2015 general election campaign; two years later the figure soared to 3.2m.

In each election it was the Conservatives that spent the most, with decidedly mixed results. For David Cameron's successful re-election in 2015, the party spent 1.2m; that rose to 2.1m in 2017, but it was far less help to Theresa May.