Tories running targeted anti-immigration ad campaign against Labour MPs in marginal seats

Party quietly building contact database of anti-immigration voters in key targets

The Conservatives are running an under-the-radar online advertising campaign targeting Labour MPs in marginal seats over immigration.

The adverts, shown to Facebook users in 19 marginal constituencies, highlight Labour's decision to vote against the government's immigration bill at the start of the month – which it opposed over visa restrictions on care workers.

Voters in seats including Bedford, which Labour held by just 145 votes at the last election, and Coventry North West, which was held by 208, are told: "Your MP just voted against ending free movement".

The adverts, which began running on 1 July also appear to be a data collection exercise, with voters asked to fill in a spurious "survey" with vague questions like "do you support strengthening our immigration system?".

Voters who respond must provide their email address and are asked to consent to be "updated via email about the party’s campaigns" – effectively building the party a contact database of anti-immigration voters in marginal seats.

Voters' contact information and their political preferences are highly valuable to parties, who can use campaigning tools to help them turn out at elections or target them with messages.

Other seats targeted include Coventry South, Weaver Vale, Wansbeck, Newport West, Warwick and Leamington – all of which have sitting Labour MPs with majorities of under 1,000 votes.

One Liberal Democrat MP, Tim Farron, whose Cumbria seat is relatively marginal, was also targeted.

The adverts have a potential reach of between one and two million people and cost the party between two and four thousand pounds, according to transparency data made public by Facebook.

The constituencies selected for this latest wave of adverts could give a clue as to the seats the Conservatives will be targeting at the next election, which is scheduled for 2024.

Higher-profile figures in the targeted seats include former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper and left-winger Zarah Sultana.

The adverts mention constituencies by name (Facebook)

The Conservatives, Labour, and the Lib Dems made significant use of targeted Facebook ads at the last general election in a bid to reach voters.

Tory messages focused on "getting Brexit done" while Labour mostly used the adverts to highlight its manifesto policies. Lib Dem campaigns largely focused on Brexit.

A study by the organisation First Draft which fact-checked Conservative targeted Facebook ads at the general election found that 88 per cent of them were misleading or dishonest, compared to none for opposition parties.

This month Keir Starmer announced a "complete boycott" of advertising spending on Facebook in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement – after the social media form was accused of failing to do enough to remove hate speech and racist conspiracy theories.

The party spent £1.2 million on advertisements with the social media giant at last year's general election. The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill was approved by MPs on 1 July by 342 votes to 248, with Labour MPs whipped to oppose it.

The legislation repeats EU free movement rules and also paves the way for a points-based immigration system, without giving details. Labour says it voted against the bill because the government has said carers will not be eligible for a special new healthcare worker visa under the new immigration system – despite a labour shortage in the sector.