The Labour party’s decision at the weekend to unveil a giant stone tablet with six manifesto promises etched in it has drawn unflattering comparisons with everything from Moses to The Thick of It to Spinal Tap.
John Rentoul in The Independent described it as: “The most absurd, embarrassing, counter-productive, demeaning, inane, childish, silly, insulting, awkward, laughable, ridiculous gimmick I have ever seen. And I’ve seen Edwina Currie waving handcuffs at a Conservative conference.”
But perhaps the real problem isn’t the format but the message. If you’re going to make a big statement about trust in politics by carving your goals on a giant stone tablet, it helps if they’re both meaningful and measurable.
None of Ed’s six are. For example, economists spend their entire academic careers arguing over what constitutes “a strong economic foundation” – so those four words in the absence of context or definition simply have no meaning.
So as a Bank Holiday challenge, why not see if you can do better? What political promises would you like to see etched in stone in the garden of Number 10 come 8 May? Answers in the comments section below please…