ieExplains: What are election manifestos and why are there so many of them?
Green Party’s Picture: Leader Party Launch The Pictured Sharp/sharppix At Paul O’gorman Roderic Manifesto
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last week you’ll have seen plenty of posts on social media and in the papers about manifestos.
And while ‘manifesting’ has become quite a popular term among Gen Z, it doesn’t ring quite the same bells for those who are looking to gain your votes on November 29.
Here, we explain everything you need to know about manifestos.
It’s a public declaration, usually through print and prior to elections, of policies and aims by a party.
Scroll for results in your area
It basically sets out what a party will do if they are elected to be in the next government.
No.
Unions and representative groups or charities can also issue manifestos determining what they want to see from any potential government post-election.
Absolutely.
Anything on an Independent manifesto can also be used by parties if the Independent candidate is asked to help form a government post-election.
While usually political parties publish their pre-election manifestos as one, the parties have opted to break down their plans into specific departments each day.
For example, one may decide to publish their tourism manifesto on Monday, a justice manifesto on Wednesday and then a healthcare manifesto on Saturday.
They all form part of the overall election manifesto.
No.
They can be published in any form and can contain any claim or promise, no matter how feasible.
Often, parties will point to promises made in previous manifestos and explain how they have added to them or changed them in the intervening period.
Also no. In election season, manifestos by political parties are just a wish list.
It might hurt them in the eyes of some but once they are in power, and usually with other parties, the realities of government mean that some cherished manifesto plans might never see the light of day.