Do Parties Fulfil Their Manifesto Promises Essay, Research Paper

Before a general election takes place each party publishes a programme called the Party Manifesto which outlines their views on how they believe society should develop under their government.

Manifestos are used to give electors a choice between the parties based on their policies. Despite this though very few electors actually read the Manifestos unless it’s through the media.

Usually Manifestos are very vague. This is because many party leaders fear that failure to meet their promises will cause resentment among the population. “Youth”, “transport”, “the economy” and “unemployment” are usually included in discussions, but never in great detail. Occassionally though this is not the case, for example, New Labour in 1997 made relatively precise pledges about Scottish and Welsh devolution and on limiting tax increases.

Many people feel as though promises made before elections are not kept once the party is in power and no longer needs the votes. However, recent research has shown that about 70% of pledges are carried out. This isn’t very impressive though if the promises do not cover central areas of policy.