Grant Shapps among Tory candidates to ditch party brand

Grant Shapps is among dozens of Tory candidates ditching the Conservative brand in their campaign adverts, analysis reveals.

The Defence Secretary is one of at least three Cabinet ministers who have leaned into their personal reputation as local MPs in some of their promotional material while omitting the party’s branding.

It comes as the Tories suffered a huge blow in the polls, falling behind Reform UK for the first time.

An analysis of social media advertising by Sky News showed that the “vast majority” of the adverts it looked at that contained no branding came from Conservatives.

The candidates had party branding on other promotional material, however.

The broadcaster looked at Facebook and Instagram promotions from 521 Labour and Tory candidates from May 1, some three weeks before the election was called, to June 12.

It found that 376 adverts contained official branding, meaning the use of the party’s logo and colours, 104 had some form of partial branding and 41 had no branding at all – 38 of which were Conservative.

Of the 80 Tory candidates who had partial branding, nearly three quarters only mentioned the party in the funding disclosure, where they are legally obliged to do so, according to Sky’s investigation.

Senior Tory figures found to have stripped branding from their promotional material include Mr Shapps, who posted one Facebook advert with no mention of his party.

It stated: “I’m proud to have helped tens of thousands of Welwyn Hatfield residents over the years. I’m standing for re-election so I can help thousands more.”

A quote below read: “Almost everyone knows someone Grant has helped.”

Mr Shapps mentions the Conservative Party elsewhere on his social media, including in his Facebook bio, and regularly posts pictures of himself out campaigning with Tory-branded placards.

A source close to Mr Shapps said: “Grant is fully supportive of the party and Prime Minister. He is one of the party’s best campaigners and supports all his colleagues.”

Steve Barclay, the Environment Secretary, also posted an advert that did not reference the Conservatives.

It said the choice at the election was between “Steve Barclay as a strong local champion who has delivered over £100 million in recent investment” and “a return to being the forgotten Fens with a Labour candidate who is a councillor based in Luton”.

The advert contrasted blue and red backgrounds, referencing the party colours.

The caption read: “A vote for Reform or the Lib Dems is a vote for Labour’s Luton based councillor who won’t stand up for our area.”

But Mr Barclay frequently references the Conservative Party elsewhere on his social media and posted about campaigning with Tory councillors on Friday

Meanwhile, Johnny Mercer, the veterans’ minister, who sits in Cabinet, was said to have created leaflets which completely neglected Tory branding.

Sharing a partial image of the flyer in question, which did not appear to reference the Conservatives at all, Sky News said the reverse page “mentions the party in small text and in brackets as part of the funding disclosure, where candidates are, again, legally obliged to”.

The analysis comes after a former Conservative minister caused controversy by putting a picture of herself with Nigel Farage on her election leaflet.

Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who is standing for election in the new seat of Leeds South West and Morley in West Yorkshire, included a photograph of herself with the Reform UK leader on her campaign material.

Rishi Sunak does not appear on the leaflet, and nor is the Conservative Party mentioned.