The people and processes behind manifesto development in each of the three main parties.
We are in a crucial time of the electoral cycle. Our latest report – Work in progress-a stock take on manifesto development – is designed to help you approach the fourteen months between now and the next election.
The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats are in the middle of producing their general election manifesto commitments. They are also producing plans for government that won’t get published, but will form the basis of what they do if in government. These will be discussed with senior civil servants involved in succession planning over the summer, and between the two bigger parties and the Liberal Democrats, as the possibility of another coalition government is contemplated.
So now is a key time to get involved in policy development, make your voice heard and help shape the government agenda for 2015 to 2020.
Our report aims to help businesses, charities, trade associations and others do that effectively. It provides a detailed account of how each party is developing its policy thinking, including the key people, processes and timescales.
Our analysis is unashamedly forensic and focused. We’ve resisted the urge to list anyone and everyone who, on paper at least, is meant to have a role in policy development. Instead, we embrace the reality that, although in theory each party’s policy development process involves a broad range of interests, only a small number of people in each party really have the most sway.
Our report is an insight into the knowledge and expertise of our excellent cross-party team of consultants. It draws on their networks and recent conversations we’ve had with people working on policy development in all the main parties, in parliament and in government.
The Report can be downloaded from our website, and we hope that you find it useful.
Dominic Church
Managing Director, Westminster Advisers