A beginner's guide to election manifestos and why they really matter

Manifestos establish the agenda for government that the party will pursue in office

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