More than £2m spent by government on influencers since July 2024

More than £2m spent by government on influencers since July 2024

Departments use influencers alongside campaigns in traditional media such as TV and newspapers

Government departments have disclosed that they have spent at least £2. 4m working with social media influencers since July 2024

Departments have used influencers to promote campaigns on topics including career development, how to access benefits, as well as recruitment of teachers and prison officers

The Department for Education (DfE) has spent the most at more than £700,000, followed by HMRC which has spent nearly £600,000

Departments said using influencers helped the government to reach people who may be harder to engage through traditional channels

They also stressed that all paid marketing campaigns were assessed to ensure they deliver value for money

However, Conservative shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood said: "The government is spending hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money on influencers in a feeble attempt to cover for its failures"

The figures - which primarily cover the period when Sir Keir Starmer was prime minister - were revealed in responses to parliamentary questions submitted by the Conservatives and first reported by the Politics At Sam And Anne's podcast, external

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Previous Conservative governments have also used influencers - who can include celebrities, podcasters, bloggers and social media creators - in campaigns

For example, under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the Home Office paid TikTok influencers to encourage people not to cross the English Channel in small boats

In 2025/26, the Department for Education paid 57 social media influencers, who worked on campaigns including supporting career progression for young people, providing parents with childcare advice and recruiting more teachers

The department said this included Strictly Come Dancing's Oti Mabuse and reality TV star Billie Shepherd, who both backed the government's Best Start in Life childcare campaign

The Department for Work and Pensions, which has spent more than £200,000 on influencers since July 2024, said content included helping people switch to Universal Credit and sharing advice on how to access career support

The DfE faced a backlash over its collaboration with reality TV star Gemma Collins - although it said she was not paid for the posts

While the figures cover Labour's time in office under Sir Keir Starmer, his successor Andy Burnham has continued to use influencers to get the government's message out