Following the publication of the Weight problems Well being Alliance’s Manifesto for the next General Election, our Authorities Affairs Lead, Alfie Slade, displays on the method and what learnings we will share with our members.
What’s the purpose of a manifesto? It’s a query that lots of people who work in politics ask themselves. Why can we put a lot deal with a doc that the political events solely do on sufferance, usually hold as imprecise as attainable and barely hold to?
Within the charity world, we put loads of emphasis on securing commitments, and even simply vaguely supportive wording, in a political get together’s manifesto. The rationale for that is typically put right down to it being one thing we will “maintain folks to” – much like a Authorities goal.
However I don’t assume that is true anymore. Notably within the Boris Johnson period, each manifesto commitments (40 new hospitals) and Authorities targets (halving childhood weight problems by 2030) weren’t delivered, and most of the people would say that they had been by no means going to be. A lot of Sir Keir Starmer’s management marketing campaign commitments have additionally been rowed again on within the final three years. Neither state of affairs resulted in any notable political penalties. In each instances, a lot of the media protection has an undertone of “in the event you truly believed any of this, that’s on you”.
All of this was swirling round my thoughts as we started to consider our personal manifesto for the Weight problems Well being Alliance. Charity manifestos usually are not fairly the identical factor as a political get together manifesto, however they serve the identical function. Firstly, to stipulate a imaginative and prescient and a roadmap of easy methods to attain it, in addition to be a little bit of a gross sales pitch for the organisation. Secondly, to construct help on your concepts amongst influential folks and supply a rallying level for supporters to get behind.
The day earlier than we launched our manifesto, the Labour get together launched their ‘Well being Missions’ for the subsequent Authorities. One of many headline gadgets was a dedication to ship the restrictions on junk meals promoting that was the primary, and most necessary, name in our manifesto. It actually made the occasion a extra cheerful affair. Largely, this was because of a coordinated push by our alliance to safe dedication from all political events to this laws.
In fact, for a lot of third sector organisations, the intention of those paperwork is barely to stipulate your imaginative and prescient and supply a consensus doc, not safe political commitments – which is completely reliable. However for organisations looking for to safe commitments from political events, we have now to start out treating pre-election commitments because it they’re coverage bulletins from a sitting Authorities. From the expertise of our manifesto, I’ve give you 5 key components to offer the very best probability of securing a real dedication within the present political setting.
Timing
The primary, and most necessary, part is timing. Many charity organisations publish their manifestos six months to a yr upfront of an election. We’re at the moment about a bit over a yr away from the subsequent election (at most), and opposition events have largely finalised the details of their manifestos. Any new bulletins want months of polling, focus group testing and inside wrangling for even the mildest of proposals. The governing get together will base their manifesto on work they’ve already began in workplace.
We started writing our manifesto in Spring 2022, and had a working doc that we may use privately with political stakeholders by January 2023. Even this was slicing it positive – we had been solely simply capable of get our concepts over to the related folks earlier than Labour’s well being missions had been drafted.
Consensus
The second most necessary part is consensus. If there’s one factor I hear from politicians and their advisors greater than anything, it’s how busy they’re and the way overwhelmed they’re with individuals who need them to do ‘only one factor’. Having the ability to go to those politicos and say that dozens of the biggest organisations in a sector have all agreed a means ahead is the best asset a charity can have. It’s one thing the OHA does very nicely, because of the information, good will and help of our improbable members.
On the flip aspect, absolutely the worst factor a politician can hear is totally different asks on the identical subject from the identical kinds of organisations. It’s not that politicians will choose one over the opposite – they nearly at all times will elect to do nothing in any respect.
Proof
The subsequent important part is proof. An amazing case that the coverage will work is necessary, however there are two different elements that, from my expertise, are essential for policymakers. One is polling. You’ll be able to by no means have sufficient polling to point out public help on your coverage. The second is costing. We had been lucky that our key coverage name to sort out junk meals advertising price the Authorities nothing – something that prices cash must have a watertight financing plan, or it’s by no means going anyplace. The place attainable, I at all times advise in opposition to asking politicians for cash upfront. A Conservative MP that I used to be engaged on a costly social care marketing campaign with suggested us to “win them over, then put the worth tag on the finish”.
Belief
In fact, for proof to be believed there should be belief, the fourth part. Belief comes from the title recognition and credibility of the organisation, however most significantly, it comes from relationships. Politicians and their advisors must know your title, your experience, and that you’re trustworthy with them – which means sharing the negatives in addition to the positives. That solely comes from years of funding in build up relationships by good public affairs professionals.
Simplicity
And eventually, my golden rule for all political messaging is Preserve it Easy. The primary piece of suggestions I obtained on our manifesto was “I really like that it’s all on one web page” – and I concur. If the abstract of your proposal is greater than half a web page of textual content, it’s too sophisticated for political stakeholders.
This additionally goes for the dimensions of the change you’re asking for – a tangible coverage that may be virtually applied is the one factor that can get traction. Lofty ambitions or sweeping social adjustments is likely to be the best factor to do, however they’re non-starters for a authorities that wishes to remain, or come into, energy. In truth, they’ll typically undermine a wider trigger by reinforcing frequent perceptions of charities as naive, idealistic and unpragmatic.
So, there you might have it, the 5 elements of influencing a manifesto: Timing, Consensus, Proof, Belief and Simplicity. If a charity manifesto, and the marketing campaign round it, has all these elements, you might have my vote of confidence that it may ship a political change.
