Painful political lessons

Labout is not the only party which may prefer not to remind voters about sections of its 2005 manifesto. Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats will go into the next election with significantly different packages to offer voters.
By The Newsroom
Published 5th Jan 2010, 11:15 BST
Updated 5th Jan 2010, 11:15 BST

The Tories fought the last election on a manifesto entitled "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" – only to discover the electorate was clearly not as Michael Howard led the party to a third successive defeat. It featured six simple messages – more police, cleaner hospitals, lower taxes, school discipline, controlled immigration and accountability.

When David Cameron took over, he set himself the task of detoxifying the party – and his greener, "compassionate conservatism" will mean a radically different package of policies.

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The economic crisis means promising lower taxes is no longer on the agenda in the short-term, in contrast to the pledge of 4bn of tax cuts in 2005. Promising more police will also be difficult given the severe cuts facing Whitehall departments, while hospital cleanliness has become less of a hot potato in light of falling MRSA rates.

The environment, which got little more than a passing reference in 2005, is likely to feature more heavily.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has already said the party will not produce a "shopping list" manifesto as it has previously. Popular policies are under review to see if they are affordable, and every spending commitment has to be fully funded.

Related topics:Liberal DemocratsDavid CameronLiberal Democrat