How to read a political manifesto

A manifesto is a strange document: it is written to be argued over, quoted from and, later, measured against. Reading one well is a skill, because the important information is often in what is specified and what is left vague, in the order of priorities and in the difference between an intention and a commitment. This explainer sets out a practical method for reading any programme of promises.

The approach is general. It does not discuss any particular party, election or claim, and it avoids asserting how any specific promise turned out. The point is to describe how a reader can form a judgement without being misled.

Separate intention from commitment

Documents of this kind mix several different kinds of statement. Some describe values, some describe goals, some describe specific actions and some describe outcomes that depend on other people. The first useful step is to sort them: a statement that something must be improved is a value, while a statement that a particular step will be taken is a commitment that can later be checked. Reading as though every sentence were a promise is the most common way to be disappointed by any programme.

Look for what is specified

Precision is informative in itself. Where a document names a mechanism, an institution or a defined period, it is possible to test whether the thing happens. Where it speaks only of intentions, there is nothing to test, which may be a deliberate choice. A careful reader therefore marks every sentence that contains an observable action, because those are the passages that will still be meaningful in a few years' time.

Order as a statement of priority

Manifestos are almost never silent about priorities, since they must decide what to discuss first and at greatest length. The opening sections and the passages given most space are rarely accidental. When two commitments conflict, the one given greater emphasis is the one that will probably be pursued, which makes the arrangement of the document as revealing as its content.

Check the assumptions and the dependencies

Many commitments depend on conditions the author does not control: revenue that must be raised, approval that must be obtained, cooperation that must be offered by others. A useful question is what each promise assumes. If a proposal requires another body to act, or resources that have not been identified, then the promise is conditional whether or not the document says so, and knowing that in advance prevents confusion later.

Read it against the record

A programme is best read alongside what the same group has previously done, and alongside the constraints that apply to anyone in office. Comparing a promise with earlier behaviour is more informative than comparing it with an ideal, and comparing it with the practical limits of the office explains a great deal about what is realistic. Neither comparison excuses a broken promise, but together they give a clearer picture of what a document is actually proposing.

A method in five moves

• Mark every statement that names a concrete action, and treat the rest as intent.
• Note where a period, mechanism or responsible body is specified.
• Read the order of sections as a statement of priority.
• Ask what each promise assumes, and who else must act.
• Compare the programme with the record of the group that wrote it.

Types of statement and how to read them

Reading without being managed

The purpose of reading a manifesto carefully is not to become cynical but to become accurate. Sorting statements into values, goals and commitments, looking at what is specified and what is left open, and asking what each promise depends on will produce a much sharper judgement than an impression formed from headlines. The document is a plan of intent; the record is the evidence, and a reader needs both.