Which Milton Keynes political group is spending the most on Facebook ads to get your vote tomorrow?

With the local elections fast approaching, the political groups are doing some last-minute campaigning in a bid to get your vote.

Councillors and MPs have been spotted across Milton Keynes posting flyers and knocking on people's doors encouraging residents to vote in support of their party.

The three main political parties - Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem - have also turned their focus to campaigning in the digital world.

Just like most other organisations nowadays, the local political parties have their own Facebook pages to spread their key manifestos at the tap of a finger.

And one key feature of Facebook is that these pages, and subsequent posts, can be boosted by the admin in charge. These boosts mean that for a fee, the content can be pushed to the top of even more people's social media pages, and ultimately be seen by even more potential voters.

This feature has been used by the three main parties, especially in the run-up to tomorrow's election. But who is spending the most in a bid to get your vote?

The Conservative Group, led by Cllr Alex Walker, has boosted 12 Facebook posts in the past five days. It has been estimated that each post has had less than £100 spent on promoting it.

One of the boosted posts is a video detailing the group's pledges, as explained by local councillors. These pledges include installing more CCTV, repairing 7,000 more potholes, creating six new youth centres, and "getting MK back on track". 

The Conservative Group boosted 27 posts in April, with lots of posts reaching between 100,000 and 500,000 people.

The group boosted 50 posts in March. Facebook estimates that the political group has spent £1,526 on adverts from 29 Nov 2018 - 2 May 2021.

The Milton Keynes Labour Party, led by Cllr Pete Marland, is hoping to retain control of Milton Keynes Council in tomorrow's election. 

The left-wing group has spent the most amount of money boosting posts on Facebook when compared with the two other parties. Between 29 Nov 2018 - 2 May 2021, Labour has spent £3,703 on Facebook advertising. 

£275 of this has been spent within the past seven days, and 11 posts have been boosted by the group in the past five days.

Just like the Conservative Group, these posts include the party's manifesto and pledges, aiming to encourage residents to vote for them.

Five posts were sponsored yesterday, and these include how Labour says they will tackle fly-tipping and make Milton Keynes carbon neutral by 2030.

40 posts were sponsored and boosted in April, and 25 posts were sponsored and boosted in March.

The Milton Keynes Liberal Democrats, led by Cllr Douglas McCall, has spent significantly less on Facebook adverts. The most recent boosted posts were in March, with one being about what the group is doing to tackle flooding, and the other being about the group's motion calling for more support for people with Long COVID.

Both of these posts each reached between 100,000 and 500,000 people.

Aside from these two posts, the other recent boosted posts were in January 2021. Three posts were sponsored; two being about the flooding, and another asking about local residents' priorities.

The group has spent £244 on Facebook ads between 29 Nov 2018 - 2 May 2021. 

These sponsored posts are all part of the parties' efforts to get your vote in tomorrow's local election. 

Voting in the local elections will take place from 7am to 10pm at the 134 polling stations across the 19 wards that make up Milton Keynes borough.

Masks, social distancing, one way systems, and hand sanitiser will be in place. More staff will be around than usual to control any queues and wipe down touch points.

Voters are also being encouraged to take their own pens and pencils to make their democratic choices – although pencils will be available.

MKFM has published a handy guide that covers everything you need to know about voting tomorrow. This includes each of the political parties' manifestos. 

READ MORE - Milton Keynes local council elections 2021: Who are the candidates standing in my area?