With the launch of the Labour and the Conservative manifestos this week, voters now have the framework of whatever the next Government will set out to achieve. If there is no outright majority, the smaller challenger parties will undoubtedly have a role in shaping the priorities that are taken forward, but ultimately it will be either one of the two that provides the core vision for the next five years. In any event, it seems that neither party has provided much room for negotiation and consensus – focusing instead on staking out their own territories in an effort to restore the more binary political options of previous years.
Each used the opportunity to address specific criticisms of their party’s outlook and credentials – Labour went hard on economic credibility with their Budget Responsibility Lock, whilst the Conservatives sought to demonstrate that they’re not just a party of the wealthy with announcements on housing, childcare and wages clearly designed to broaden their appeal. It’s a risky strategy on both sides – both require voters to buy into a very particular vision of where the country is now and where it’s going.
The Conservatives continue to argue that the economy recovery is well underway, presenting policies that seek to maintain stability and make a start on longer term growth projects through limited public spending around the country. Meanwhile, Labour maintain that whilst the macro issues might have improved, there’s been little impact on households across the board. This requires a more broad-brush vision than the Conservatives’ giveaway approach – so Labour are focusing less on the detail whilst the Conservatives are flooding the agenda with new policy.
These single-minded approaches demonstrate a clear sense from each party about which voters they’re targeting, although in a relatively one-dimensional sense. By being so focused on particular segments, there’s real potential for alienation elsewhere, exacerbating the leakage towards the smaller parties that we’re already seeing. In many ways this approach is understandable – neither party wants to have to campaign on too many fronts at once – but both parties have gambled big on their ability to save the traditional two-party system.
Ultimately, each manifesto’s launch will have been seen by their respective parties as a success, but it remains to be seen how their messages filter through to the voters.