Campaign spending for Harrogate and Knaresborough’s general election candidates has been revealed.

The seat became a political battleground on July 4, as the Liberal Democrat Tom Gordon ended Conservative Andrew Jones' 14-year stint as MP for the constituency.

All seven candidates who stood on polling day were legally required to file spending figures with the Electoral Commission, which regulates political party and election finances in the United Kingdom.

This includes figures for advertising, staffing, accommodation and transport.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, the limit for spend for all five parliamentary candidates was £20,525.48.

The Stray Ferret requested the figures for each candidate, which are available to the public upon request.

Here is what the candidates for Harrogate and Knaresborough spent during the election campaign.

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat

Tom Gordon, who won the election in Harrogate and Knaresborough on July 4, spent a total of £19,247.11.

The majority of Mr Gordon’s spend was on leafleting and election literature to residents, which is called “unsolicited material to electors” in the documents.

A total of £2,653.73 was also spent on “agent and other staff costs”, such as salaries for the period of the general election.

The Liberal Democrats targeted the Harrogate and Knaresborough as a key seat at the election, which is reflected in the spend for Mr Gordon’s campaign.

• Advertising - £7.00
  
• Unsolicited material to electors - £15,868.98
  
• Transport - £133.00
  
• Public meetings - £0.00
  
• Agent and other staff costs - £2,653.73
  
• Accommodation and administration - £584.40
  

Andrew Jones, Conservative

Andrew Jones, who was defending his seat in Harrogate and Knaresborough on July 4, spent a total of £18,636.67.

Similar to Mr Gordon, much of Mr Jones’ spend was on material distributed to electors. He spent £13,087.74 on leaflets, an election newspaper and printing and postage of campaign literature.

Mr Jones also spent £4,276.21 on advertising, which included paid posts on Meta (Facebook) during the campaign.

A payment of £21.53 was also made for a ministerial visit on July 1 when former foreign secretary and Prime Minister, David Cameron, visited Harrogate to endorse Mr Jones.

• Advertising - £4,276.21
  
• Unsolicited material to electors - £13,087.74
  
• Transport - £0.00
  
• Public meetings - £21.53
  
• Agent and other staff costs - £0.00
  
• Accommodation and administration - £1,251.19
  

Conrad Whitcroft, Labour

Labour’s Conrad Whitcroft spent very little during the 2024 general election campaign.

The party spent a total of £1,344.42 - most of which was spent on leaflets which were distributed to residents in the constituency.

Despite representing the party which would go on to form the next government, Mr Whitcroft’s spending was considerably lower than the other political parties.

The Stray Ferret reported in December 2023 that the national Labour Party designated Harrogate and Knaresborough a “non-battleground” seat.

However, in an interview with the Stray Ferret ahead of election day, Mr Whitcroft denied that he was a “paper candidate” for the party.

• Advertising - £37.00
  
• Unsolicited material to electors - £1,307.42
  
• Transport - £0.00
  
• Public meetings - £0.00
  
• Agent and other staff costs - £0.00
  
• Accommodation and administration - £0.00
  

Jonathan Swales, Reform

Jonathan Swales, who sought to make headway in Harrogate and Knaresborough for Reform UK at the election, spent £2,943.91 on his campaign.

Much like other candidates, Mr Swales spent most of his campaign funds on election material. A total of £1,862 was spent on leafleting.

The Reform candidate also spent £838.31 on advertising, which included correx boards, A3 posters and rosettes.

• Advertising - £838.31
  
• Unsolicited material to electors - £1,862
  
• Transport - £110.00
  
• Public meetings - £133.60
  
• Agent and other staff costs - £0.00
  
• Accommodation and administration - £0.00
  

Shan Oakes, Green Party

Shan Oakes, who stood as the Green Party candidate in Harrogate and Knaresborough, spent £1,622.08 on her election campaign.

All but £18.00 of Ms Oakes’ spend was on election material, which included political flyers to be distributed across the constituency.

The remaining cost was spent on holding a meeting at HADCA, Community House on East Parade.

• Advertising - £0.00
  
• Unsolicited material to electors - £1,604.08
  
• Transport - £0.00
  
• Public meetings - £18.00
  
• Agent and other staff costs - £0.00
  
• Accommodation and administration - £0.00
  

Paul Haslam, independent

Independent candidate, Paul Haslam, spent a total on £3,002.77 on his campaign to become Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

Mr Haslam spent £2,352.77 on advertising, which included t-shirts, business cards and website design.

He also spent £650.00 on posting election leaflets in the constituency.

• Advertising - £2,352.77
  
• Unsolicited material to electors - £650.00
  
• Transport - £0.00
  
• Public meetings - £0.00
  
• Agent and other staff costs - £0.00
  
• Accommodation and administration - £0.00
  

Stephen Metcalfe, independent

Stephen Metcalfe, who stood as an independent in Harrogate and Knaresborough, spent £3,475.00 on his campaign to become MP.

According to Mr Metcalfe’s expenses, the entirety of that figure was spent on printing election leaflets to distribute across the constituency.

Mr Metcalfe, a semi-retired farmer and an elder at Starbeck Mission, an evangelical church in Harrogate, announced his candidacy late into the election campaign, declaring it just a week before polling day.

In an interview with the Stray Ferret, he told us that he had delayed publicising his campaign as he “had been waiting for leaflets to be printed”.

• Advertising - £0.00
  
• Unsolicited material to electors - £3,475
  
• Transport - £0.00
  
• Public meetings - £0.00
  
• Agent and other staff costs - £0.00
  
• Accommodation and administration - £0.00