Rishi Sunak is outspending Donald Trump on Facebook ads ahead of election

Rishi Sunak may be one of Britain's richest men, but he could be about to run into something money alone can't buy: an election win.

That won't stop the richest even prime minister trying though, after he reportedly spent more on Facebook ads than even Donald Trump over the Christmas period.

The Conservatives nearly doubled the amount parties are allowed to spend in the run-up to an election to £35m in November.

The UK's election watchdog has since warned that the changes could damage the transparency of political donations and public confidence in elections.

Sunak is taking full advantage of the rule change, by massively increasing spending on social media ads over Christmas, reports The Mirror.

The Conservatives spend more than £104,500 on Sunak's Facebook page alone over the last month, compared to Trump's £87,229 spend over the same period.

By comparison, Labour spent £26,399 on ads for the party's main Facebook page, and £4,436 on Keir Starmer's page.

Sunak said last week that he "expects" an election in the second half of this year – it could come at roughly the same time as the US presidential election.

It gives him plenty of time to keep pumping money into social media ads. The PM's page has been throwing as much as £15,000 a day on putting ads in front of Facebook users.

The Electoral Commission, which oversees how UK elections are run, said the rule changes which allowed this had not been demonstrated to be necessary.

A spokesperson said at the time: "The Commission has still not seen evidence to support these changes. We remain concerned that the proposals risk damaging the transparency of political donations, and give significantly more scope for higher spending parties to campaign.

"The Commission's research shows a long-term decline in public confidence in the political finance system.

"We have been clear that any changes to spending or reporting thresholds should be supported by rigorous analysis, including on the likely impact on public confidence and transparency."

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Christine Jardine MP told The Mirror: "No matter how much money Sunak pours into his campaign, nothing can reverse the mess they have made.

"They are lining themselves up to spend eye watering sums of money on a failed campaign and it's a huge kick in the teeth for hardworking families desperately struggling through the cost of living crisis."

The indy100 has approached the Conservative Party for comment.

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