Labour MPs have mentioned individual charities more on X, formerly Twitter, than those from other parties over the past year, according to new research.
PoliMonitor found that most of the mentions of charities on the social media platform since the general election came from Labour MPs (2,347), followed by Liberal Democrats (457) and Conservatives (443).
It also reported that Labour MPs promoted charities that had criticised their party’s policies – such as Age UK, which has criticised its policy on winter fuel payments – more than those from other parties.
PoliMonitor said that this suggests that opposition parties “do not seem to be systematically using [charities] to build a coordinated critique of government policy”.
Labour MP Ian Byrne mentioned charities the most (53 posts), including several posts about his local Alder Hey Children’s Charity in Liverpool, while Bob Blackman featured charities more than any other Conservative MP (48) and John Milne the most of the Liberal Democrats (33).
Meanwhile, Alliance MP in Northern Ireland Sorcha Eastwood mentioned charities 47 times, many of which were related to blood cancer organisations following her husband’s diagnosis with the illness.
MPs mentioned Royal British Legion charity more than any others (354 times), almost double the amount for second-placed Terrence Higgins Trust, which received 186 mentions.
Most of Royal British Legion’s mentions (232) came in October and November, around the time of its annual Poppy Appeal, while Terrence Higgins Trust saw its most active month in February, when Keir Starmer became the first sitting prime minister to take an HIV test.
Four charities were mentioned in more than 100 X posts during the year, including the Samaritans (143) and RSPCA (102).
Presentation matters
PoliMonitor analysed mentions on X of organisations listed on YouGov’s list of the 100 most popular charities.
Its report reads: “Reposts make up the majority of charity-related activity for several of the most active MPs, suggesting that visibility and the ability to produce easily sharable content, may be just as important as policy alignment or cause relevance.
“For charities, the message is clear: timing, presentation and personal relevance matter when it comes to posts on social media.
“Annual campaign months, emotionally resonant issues and clear links to a constituency or MP’s personal story all increase digital engagement.”
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