12 March 2024 , 15:49
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The Conservatives have fuelled speculation the election will be held in May by dramatically increasing their spending on Facebook adverts.
Voters in some marginal seats are being bombarded with videos of their local Tory candidates as the party has ramped up spending by more than 1,200%.
Figures show that £740,491 has been splashed on ads in the first nine weeks of this year, compared to just £53,484 in the same period last year. In some marginal seats more than £1,000 a week is now being spent, meaning that voters constantly see the Tory adverts when they are browsing on Facebook.
Over £8,000 was spent between the start of the year and March 8 on each of the campaign pages of Swindon South MP Sir Robert Buckland, Taunton MP Rebecca Pow and Camborne, Redruth and Hayle candidate Connor Donnithorne. MPs who have spent similar amounts including Ben Everitt, who is facing a tricky fight to hang on in Milton Keynes North, and Theresa Villiers, who has a difficult task in Chipping Barnet.
Localised video adverts about the National Insurance cut announced in the Budget are running in dozens of key seats including Stevenage, as Warrington South, Derby North, Stockton South, Rushcliffe, Crawley and Woking.
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Labour believes Rishi Sunak could announce the election next week so it can be held on May 2, the same day as the local elections. The Prime Minister has repeatedly refused to rule out a snap election.
The latest infighting triggered by the defection of Lee Anderson has led to fresh talk at Westminster on how Mr Sunak could go to the country before any sense of party unity completely disappears.
A poll earlier this week showed the British people want a ballot so they can finally have their say on how the country is run. Given the choice of when the vote should be held between now and January, May was the most popular option with 33% saying they want it then. Some 15% picked June, 13% October, 7% November, while just 2% said December and 7% January.
The survey, commissioned by Labour Together, found half of people (50%) thought delaying the election to January, which is the very latest it can be held, would be “unacceptable”.
Parliament must be dissolved at least 25 working days before an election. The latest opinion polls suggest the Budget has failed to convince voters, with the Tories still trailing Labour by as much as 27 points.
More than 209,000 people have now signed the Mirror’s General Election Now petition on the 38 Degrees website.