 "You probably won't read election manifestos, but these documents can make or break a party (Image: Shutterstock)")
The launch of a party’s manifesto is among the most decisive moments in a British general election campaign. Manifestos are not merely devices to harvest votes at election time. They establish the agenda for government that the party will pursue in office.
Manifestos have a quasi-constitutional authority in the British political system. If a party has secured a parliamentary majority in the House of Commons on the basis of its manifesto, the Salisbury Convention states that the government’s programme cannot be vetoed by a recalcitrant House of Lords.
Political parties approach manifesto writing very differently. The Labour party has
