The Digital Election: Why big money might swing it
The surprise election announcement made for a sluggish start to the campaign in most ways.
But the speed of digital meant the online campaign was up and running in minutes – in fact, as we’ll see, the shadow campaign was already being waged.
Every election, we talk about it being the biggest digital election. That’s not untrue. With five years between each vote, platforms move on – last time, TikTok was not the behemoth it is now, for example.
But this is different, for a very old-fashioned reason: money. Lots of it.
First, though, the launches. Despite being in ostensible control, the Conservative effort was lacklustre.
Compare that to Labour, which put this slick video out within minutes.
The lacklustre nature of the Tory launch was surprising, to say the least.
“This is borderline negligent for a modern digital campaign where the first 24 hours are a real opportunity to create some momentum,” Sam Jeffers, executive director of Who Targets Me, which tracks digital political advertising, tells Sky News.
He points out how slick equivalent launches by Democrat candidates in the US are in comparison.
General election latest: Sunak asks ‘who do you trust?’
“As it stands, only one of the parties appeared to be ready for the digital campaign, and it wasn’t the one who had control of the timetable. There’s time for the Conservatives to fix this, but not a lot of it.”
The weak Conservative launch also meant that their message was swamped by memes instead, like this:
A little later the Tories had got their act together to some extent.
The nature of digital means you can see strategies evolving almost in real time.
Back to the money.
Spending limits have been raised – almost doubled in fact, from £19.5 million to £35 million.
Only so much of that can really be spent on old-school campaigning, because that infrastructure is limited more by organisational ability – the number of volunteers and door knockers.
But you can pour it into digital, very easily. And it seems to be happening already.
Digital spend well under way
“In 2019, we saw over £10m spent on Google and Facebook during the election campaign, but since January we’ve already seen just under £5m spent on Meta advertising alone – and that’s before the campaign had even kicked off,” says Kate Dommett, professor of digital politics at the University of Sheffield.
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Professor Dommett says that campaigns will combine that sort of paid advertising with other methods, especially new tools to combine digital and online campaigning.
And that’s before we get to influencers and other new ways of reaching a consumer audience that is the most fragmented it’s ever been.
“What is likely is that we’ll see parties from across the spectrum try and reach out in newer ways than ever before,” says Professor Dommett, “Using WhatsApp messages, unskippable online advertising, social media influencers, and their own multi-media posts alongside the now familiar doorstep conversations, leaflets and public events.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
You could avoid previous elections by not turning on the TV or radio.
This time though, if you have a phone, there will be no escape. Welcome to the unskippable election.
Digital is the vital campaign battleground – and I’ll be surveying it carefully over the next six weeks.
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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