Reform UK summer social media ad spend tops all other parties combined
Reform UK spent £380,000 on social media ads between 1 August and 25 September, more than all other parties combined, as it builds campaign staff and apps.
The Full Story
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Reform UK spent £380,000 on social media advertising between 1 August and 25 September, according to figures from the analytics firm Who Targets Me. That works out at about £6,800 a day. Over the eight-week period covering the summer recess, the party's spending was more than all other parties combined.
The figures show a sharp rise from earlier in the year. Spending had already increased around the local elections in May, but the report identified a further uptick of about £7,000 a day during the usually quiet summer recess. Labour and the Conservatives were far below Reform in the same period. The Greens began spending more in mid-September, probably because of a looming by-election.
The ads Reform paid for included petitions calling for a general election and for illegal immigrants to be detained and deported. The report said these were not mainly about collecting signatures. They were a way for the party to identify possible supporters and gather contact details. Reform also ran ads asking people to sign up as councillors. It posted different versions of messages about Andy Burnham not having a mandate, as the party put it, and about illegal migration. That allowed it to test which messages worked best.
The spending is part of a wider build-up. Reform has posted more than 60 job ads since June, which would more than double its headcount compared with last year. Many roles are outside Westminster: there are 47 campaign manager posts covering every corner of the country. The party's home affairs chief, Zia Yusuf, has also advertised for staff including press officers and video producers.
Reform has launched mobile apps as well. Reform Go lets campaigners log doors they have knocked and enter details about possible voters and supporters. Another app, Small Boat Watch, tracks Channel crossings and includes a game in which users try to stop boats reaching the UK. The report said the aim was to keep migration in voters' minds.
The party has also invested in in-house media, including a podcast launched earlier this year, a studio at its headquarters for live streams, and a full YouTube channel. Reform received more in donations than any other party last year, before two £36 million donations. Nigel Farage said the money would help the party catch up with what had happened over the past five years and begin to level the playing field. Asked whether he had started spending it, he said: "That's for me to know and you to find out."
Reform says the recent large donations will level the playing field by buying the tools and infrastructure that other parties have spent decades building.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Reform posted more than 60 job adverts since June, which would more than double its headcount compared with the previous year. | |
| Reform spent £380,000 on social media ads between 1 August and 25 September, with its summer spending exceeding all other parties combined. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News turned the story into a data-led explainer, using Who Targets Me figures and chart-style analysis to show Reform's £380,000 spend and the gap with Labour, the Conservatives and the Greens. It treated the ad spend as part of a broader professionalisation drive: hiring, apps, in-house media and data gathering. The tone was neutral and explanatory, with no opposing party reaction beyond Nigel Farage's brief comment.
- “Reform UK have been splashing the cash this summer.”
- “In fact Reform's spending during this eight-week period covering the summer is more than all of the other parties put together.”
- “It's basically an exercise in gathering data.”
Broadcast Timeline
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