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Facebook played a “huge” role in the last election, according to the MP who won Wales’ most marginal seat for the Conservatives in May.

New figures show the Tories spent more than £1.2m on Facebook advertising in the campaign which culminated in David Cameron winning a shock majority.

Cardiff North MP Craig Williams had the task of holding on to the seat for the Conservatives. His predecessor was elected in 2010 with a majority of just 194 and it was number four in Labour’s list of top target seats.

But instead of turning from blue to red on election night, Mr Williams was sent to Westminster with a majority of 2,137.

An example of a Conservative Facebook post

Mr Williams freely admits that Facebook played an important role in the campaign.

He said: “I think Facebook was huge.”

New figures released by the Electoral Commission show while the Tories invested more than £1.2 million in Facebook advertising Labour spent just £16,454.

Parties are not allowed to buy radio or TV advertising but there are no restrictions on online advertising.

Another election Facebook post

Mr Williams said he used Facebook to motivate supporters and engage with voters.

He said: “[For] a small amount of money you can sponsor posts and that enables it to get to a wider audience, not just the people who follow you... It’s an incredibly powerful tool which I think has opened up politics.”

Facebook earned £1.37m from different parties over the course of the campaign. Parties are not bound by rules on advertising spending on social media so long as it is reported to the commission.

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Mr Williams stressed the importance of appearing in the people’s Facebook “news feed”.

He said: “That’s how people absorb news. It’s important to be there.

“I think the Conservative party’s commitment to Facebook above any other platform really shows where a large proportion of the electorate is engaging both in news and comment and community activity.”

A Facebook post targeting small businesses

Welcoming the role of the social media giant in the political process, he said: “I think any engagement in politics is brilliant and I think Facebooks’ role has really opened it up.”

Labour gave Facebook £1,027 for“tea towel giveaway – website conversations” and £696.59 on “Hell Yes – donations”, a reference to the phrase then Labour leader Ed Miliband used in an interview with presenter Jeremy Paxman in which he declared: “Hell yes, I’m tough enough”.

Overall, political campaigns spent a total of almost £40m on the 2015 general election.

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