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If you want a good idea of what matters to each party – its deepest desires, its darkest fears – look at where it’s spending money. 

What it shows is a story of Labour spending big and spending everywhere, as it pursues a plausible supermajority, while the Conservatives retreat to fight for some of their heartland constituencies, and spend much less.

It shows the current state of play for all parties across the country. The map shows which is the biggest spender in each constituency – which parts of the country they’re fighting to win, or not to lose.

The map was created by Who Targets Me (WTM), which tracks digital political advertising and has partnered with Sky News as part of our online campaign team.

“Our map of advertising activity shows where the parties have targeted their Facebook and Instagram ads in the last week,” Sam Jeffers, executive director of WTM, says.

“In the same way careful observers track the seats party leaders visit during the campaign, the list of pages that are buying ads in each seat, helps to show whether parties think they can win there.”

We can break the map down for each party too.

You can see the Lib Dems spending big on the ‘”A30 corridor in the South West”, going for Conservative seats.

Both the Conservatives and the Greens are in a big spending battle in South Wales and the West Country.

Reform is targeting constituencies around southern Lincolnshire. And we can understand why parties are spending where they are if we compare to the predicted results from the latest YouGov MRP poll for Sky News.

We can show you how the digital war has been fought over the last few weeks – the ebb and the flow, if there has been one, between Labour and Conservative.

Labour first. They have spent by far the most this election: more than £2.7m since the start.

This is how their online campaign has spread geographically over the past six weeks.

“The map shows the scale of Labour’s ambition, with them running ads across large swathes of the country, and outcompeting both the Conservatives and Reform in England and Wales, as well as the SNP across the central belt of Scotland,” says Mr Jeffers.

Compare that to the Conservatives, who have spent only just over £1m on Meta and Google ads. And it has been dwindling: as the days go by, they’re spending less money than their competitors in big swathes of the country.

Back to the big picture. Comparing the digital spend map to the latest YouGov MRP poll for Sky News reveals some interesting battlegrounds.

The Greens spent the most of any party in any constituency up to 17 June but the MRP suggests this will be a likely Conservative hold – with the Greens coming in second. They also occupy the next two slots in the spending rankings – Bristol Central and Brighton Pavilion – and the likelihood there is that they will win.

The next highest individual constituency spender is Reform, in Great Yarmouth – which the MRP predicts Reform will win.

But in Boston and Skegness, Reform’s next highest spend, the YouGov MRP poll has a Conservative win.

But look at the Labour spend in general. As discussed, it is the biggest and most geographically widespread. And compare it to the MRP and you can see why: lots of constituencies are red, but lighter shades.

They’re toss ups or marginal calls, with only the tiniest of margins between the parties. Hence why Labour is spending so big and in so many places.

Who Targets Me continually updates the map: Click here to view.

Mr Jeffers says that “it will be a fascinating tool for the final two weeks of the campaign, showing the parties’ strategies in near real time, as they home in on the seats they hope to win or hold on 4 July.

What is an MRP poll?

You might come across the term MRP quite a lot in the coming weeks as we head towards the general election on 4 July.

An MRP poll – which stands for multilevel regression and post-stratification – is a type of poll that gets pundits excited because it draws from large amounts of data, including a large sample size and additional information like locations.

MRP polls first ask a large representative sample of people how they will vote. They then use that information of how different groups say they will vote combined with information about the sorts of people who live in different constituencies. This allows the pollster to estimate how people will vote in each constituency across the country – even when they may have surveyed just a few people, or even none, in some places.

This can then be broken down into smaller groups to see how voters in different areas say they plan to vote. Rather than making more generalised assumptions that everyone behaves the same way in different constituencies, it takes into account the fact that every constituency is its own race and local issues and trends may be at play.

What MRP can’t do is account for very specific local factors – such as a hospital or large employer closing down in a constituency, or a scandal relating to a particular candidate.

It still involves a lot of assumptions and estimates – and some races are too close to call with any level of certainty. It also only gives a snapshot of people’s opinions, and a lot can change over the course of an election campaign. However, it does give us a more nuanced idea about what the general election result could be than other more generic polls.

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The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

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Details of King Charles’s Christmas message revealed – as he chooses to deliver it away from palace

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December 24, 2025

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Details of King Charles's Christmas message revealed - as he chooses to deliver it away from palace

A photograph has been released by Buckingham Palace showing the King delivering his Christmas message again outside of traditional palace walls.

This year the annual address was filmed in the Lady Chapel inside Westminster Abbey, the second time the monarch has recorded it away from a royal residence.

The palace has revealed the abbey was chosen for the setting this year to reflect a major theme of the message, pilgrimage.

The Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey, central London. Pic: PA
Image:
The Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey, central London. Pic: PA

The full details of what he says are always kept secret until it is broadcast at 3pm on Christmas Day. The message is always seen as a deeply personal one from the monarch, as a rare speech delivered by the King without advice from, or consultation with, the government.

Westminster Abbey was seen as a perfect location to reflect the theme of pilgrimage with pilgrims visiting every year to remember the legacy of Edward the Confessor, whose shrine lies at the heart of the abbey. Around the walls of the Lady Chapel are 95 statues of saints dating from the building of the chapel in the 16th century.

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

The abbey, as the site of the King’s own coronation and that of every monarch since 1066, also has royal significance. The Henry VII Lady Chapel is the burial place of 15 Kings and Queens including Elizabeth I, Mary I and Mary Queen of Scots. Below the central aisle is the Hanoverian vault where George II and members of his family are buried. The Stuart vault is in the south aisle where Charles II, William III and Mary II, and Queen Anne lie buried.

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It is understood the King takes a particular interest in where the message is filmed each year, favouring different locations outside of royal palaces over the past two years.

In the photograph, taken during filming, you can also see brightly lit Christmas trees used for another royal event in December. They were still inside the abbey following the filming of the Princess of Wales’s Together at Christmas carol service, which will be broadcast on Christmas Eve.

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Starmer makes cost-of-living promise in Christmas message

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December 24, 2025

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Starmer makes cost-of-living promise in Christmas message

The prime minister has acknowledged Britons’ cost-of-living struggles in his Christmas message – and vowed that helping with the issue is his “priority”.

Sir Keir Starmer also urged members of the public to “each do our bit” and “reach out” to friends, relatives and neighbours during the festive period.

His message comes at the end of a difficult year for his government, with economic growth stuttering and Chancellor Rachel Reeves facing criticism over tax rises in the budget.

In a message recorded inside 10 Downing Street, Sir Keir said: “I know many across Britain are still struggling with the cost of living. Helping with that is my priority.

“But at this time of the year, which celebrates love and abundance, loss or hardship can feel even more acute.

“So call around to a neighbour. Check in on a friend or a relative who you haven’t heard from for a while. Reach out. It can make a huge difference.

“That is what Christmas is about.”

Sir Keir Starmer delivers his Christmas message from inside Downing Street. Pic: Downing Street
Image:
Sir Keir Starmer delivers his Christmas message from inside Downing Street. Pic: Downing Street

The prime minister thanked NHS workers along with members of the military and the emergency services who will be on duty on Christmas Day.

“Just as so many put their feet up, some truly special people will be pulling on their uniforms and heading out to work,” he said.

“Our NHS staff emergency services and the brave men and women of our armed forces, all playing their part, doing their bit to care for the nation and to keep us safe.

“Many volunteers will be out there as well. Serving food. Reaching out to help those lonely or in need.

“So on behalf of the whole country, I want to say a big thank you.

“As a nation, we should raise a glass to you this Christmas. But more than that, we should each do our bit as well.”

Read more from Sky News:
How does your Christmas compare to rest of UK? Take our quiz
The famous faces we said goodbye to this year


Sir Keir Starmer turning on the Christmas tree lights in Downing Street.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch used her Christmas message to talk about “Christian values” and thanked “everyone who has supported me during my first year as leader of the opposition”.

“It’s been the biggest challenge of my life,” she said. “But it’s also been a wonderful year. I can’t wait to get back to work next year to create a better United Kingdom.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey spoke about the Christmas tree in London’s Trafalgar Square – an annual gift from Norway to thank the UK for its support during the Second World War – in his message.

While saying the tree may “look a little underwhelming” on first glance, the Liberal Democrat leader said it was a reminder of “friendship and loyalty”.

He added: “It makes me think about people standing together in tough times – whether against the Nazis in the 1940s, or right now in Ukraine.

“And yeah, it might not be perfect, but this tree in Trafalgar Square makes me think about families and friends looking out for one another right here at home.

“I can’t think of a better symbol of the Christmas spirit of generosity, love and hope. Of light in the darkness.”

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Will it be a white Christmas? Here’s what to expect

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December 24, 2025

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Will it be a white Christmas? Here's what to expect

Many in the UK will wake up to a frosty morning on Christmas Day – but don’t hold out hope for snow, forecasters have said.

The Met Office says the 24 and 25 December will be dry and sunny for most, but a brisk wind picking up from Christmas Eve will make this year slightly below-average temperature wise.

It adds that for most of the country, it will feel close to freezing, with temperatures peaking at 4-5C across the festive period.

In Scotland, temperatures are forecast to plummet below freezing across much of the country, with the north of the country potentially reaching -5C.

Get the Sky News weather forecast for your area

Keen swimmers looking for a bracing dip in the sea on Christmas Day and Boxing Day may potentially face big waves, due to easterly winds.

Despite the chillier temperatures, a white Christmas is not looking likely, with only a small chance of snowfall in Dartmoor and a 10% chance of “winter flurries” on the south coast of England.

Pic: iStock
Image:
Pic: iStock

“All we need, of course, is for a flake of snow to fall anywhere across the UK for it to technically be termed a ‘white Christmas’, so something to keep an eye on across the far south of England,” Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna previously said.

Last year, not one snowflake was recorded anywhere in the UK on Christmas Day. In fact, temperatures were above zero everywhere.

The last time all four UK nations had a white Christmas was back in 2010, the year snow lay most widely across the UK since 1959.

Read more from Sky News:
Starmer makes cost-of-living promise
Details of King’s Christmas message revealed

On Boxing Day, some southern counties could see more cloud, but elsewhere is expected to remain largely dry with sunny spells.

Similar weather is expected right up until New Year’s Eve, Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said.

“It’s a bit colder than average, not unusual for the time of year, but in terms of averages it would be a bit below,” she added.

“The weather’s all very similar really, out towards New Year’s Eve. The Christmas period is quite a nice forecast.”

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