Three down, one to go

Westminster '10 — By Daran Hill on April 15, 2010 5:44 pm

EVERY political party hates the content of the manifestos of the others. No matter how much similarity or overlap there might be, you don’t concede it. This is the message this week where the launch of three Welsh manifestos from the main parties has been greeted by the usual immediate denunciation by the others. Only your party has the right ideas. Only your party has the right priorities. Only your party has costed everything properly. Only your party will stand up for Wales. Only your party can implement it all.

Yawn. But I suppose you have to do it, don’t you?

Most most manifestos just pass people by. Of course key policies leap out – and the whole point of manifesto launches is to showcase the themes or the juicy bits – but nobody reads them cover to cover do they? Unless you’re trying to get to sleep.

At any rate, I’ve been too busy to read them yet (but I will) though I have found time to go to three of the Welsh manifesto launches this week. Regrettably I won’t be at the Conservative one as it’s north of the railway line, and I don’t stray that far from the Bay Bubble. But some long distance reflections may well be in order. In the meantime, here’s my personal take on the three launches I’ve attended so far.

First to kick off was Plaid Cymru, which launched its manifesto on Tuesday to a packed room. Policy Director Nerys Evans was especially good, including when she was questioned on whether the manifesto mentioned the word “independence”. Her quick as a flash response of “Page 32″ brought the house down.

The document was as punchy as their 07 for 07 manifesto which served them so well then and represented a clear prioritisation of policy – something which of course will be critical if they get into a position of negotiation around their priorities in a hung Parliament. Or a “balanced Parliament” as Ieuan Wyn described it.

Shame the same line wasn’t consistent throughout though, as Plaid’s Parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd had already conceded on that morning’s radio that he did not expect there to be a hung Parliament at the election. Which rather undermined the value of voting Plaid for a strong negotiating stance in the event of an absence of “balance”, don’t you think?

It struck me too that Plaid prioritising seven key policies – including delivering on the devolution referendum as number six rather than at the top of the list – was very similar to their approach in 2007. Seven is obviously their lucky number. Surely it can’t be their electoral target too?

Jump forward two days and the Liberal Democrats launched their manifesto for Wales. In a feisty performance, Welsh party leader Kirsty Williams set out the case for fairness which her party is placing centre stage. Four key policies were singled out to demonstrate this commitment. Fair play for getting the word “fairness” mentioned the maximum never of times verbally and in print.

But ultimately I felt the manifesto as a whole was way too long. Back in 2007 the Lib Dems fought an election with too many policies and it felt a bit the same today. I do recognise that prioritisation was taking place, but the total package just felt very wordy, even if Kirsty delivered it with conviction and fire in her belly. Still, it did the trick and the document is out there now. Just don’t ask anyone to remember every single thing in it…

Straight from there over to Welsh Labour. Back in February I was impressed with their party conference which managed to surprise an old cynic like me. I felt much the same at this morning’s press conference too. The staging was excellent, and probably the best I have seen from Wales’ dominant party in launching any manifesto. Peter Hain and Carwyn Jones, looking like a dual monarchy, presided over proceedings. Both spoke directly and the script division was clever.

But what really made the launch work were two decisions. The first was to screen a short film before hand which, like at party conferences, gave a nice context for the party faithful. The second was to group the candidates standing behind the two leaders, which gave it all more depth. Other parties take note.

All just spin and presentation, you might say, but these things matter. And when it comes to the manifesto itself the presentation of the policies was good too. Despite the hideous cover, the content inside is clear and navigable. It is also a marked improvement on the 2007 Labour manifesto in Wales in that it says something more coherent about policy priorities. The 100 key promises for Wales is particularly effective and, all in all, this did not feel to me like the Labour Party of a year ago which had run out of steam and ideas in Wales.

On the down side for Labour, there was the feeling that here was a party which could have done a lot of this before if they had been minded to. Pledges on high quality new jobs brought this home to me quite directly. Similarly, there were some big unanswered questions around the things that wouldn’t be protected by Labour’s “fair funding guarantee”, not least quite how deep the cuts are going to be to local government services not centred around education. “Wait for the comprehensive spending review,” said Carwyn Jones. “I’d rather have seen that here and now,” thought I.

To me, this did not feel like a Labour launch of a party doomed to failure. That’s not to say they’ll win – I don’t know what the outcome of this election will be any more than anyone else does (so stop asking me) – but it does feel like they won’t crash and burn in the way they have at the polls in the last two years.

Tags: 2010 General Election, Plaid Cymru, Welsh Labour, Welsh Liberal Democrats