It is true that election manifestos can’t be compared like with like – and in recent years, the variation of detail, trustworthiness and meaning has become more pronounced than ever. But it is also true that there are things to be gleaned from their recurring themes. Moreover, there are objectively good ideas which may emanate from a party that will never be able to enact them, but nevertheless deserve exposure.
Looked at that way, it’s a great year to be a dentist, or in construction. Every party (bar Reform and the SNP) talks a great game on dental provision – even, ironically, the Conservatives, who have a £200m “recovery plan”. Toothache doesn’t feel very metaphorical when you have it, but the issue speaks to a broader truth that Keir Starmer made explicit in his manifesto launch speech: that the real-life impacts of degraded public services are too stark to ignore – which is precisely why everyone is pledging that the nothing-works years are over.
