As rumours grow that the Conservative manifesto will be published this Monday, Naomi Harris, Managing Director of Newington Public Affairs offers her thoughts on its likely tone and contents.

In 2015 we saw a Conservative manifesto that was 84-pages long from cover to cover.  It had seven chapters, 22 sub-sections and page three set out a ‘plan for every stage of your life’.  Those of us on the politically geeky end of the scale read a document several months in the making that was designed to fend off the threat of UKIP while offering bargaining chips for another potential coalition agreement with the Liberal Democrats.

Drafted in days and on the back of a huge lead in the polls, Theresa May’s first manifesto as leader of the Conservatives, is likely to be a different affair.  Just like her ‘strong and stable leadership’ mantra it will be short, to the point and designed to appeal to those who identify as conservative with a small ‘c’ – those who are looking for a Prime Minister that combines a no nonsense approach with splash of aspirational vision.  Pulled together by George Freeman MP, Ben Gummer MP, John Godfrey, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, the Prime Minister’s close and trusted team have a mission of building on Mrs May’s maiden speech on the steps of Number 10 – where she spoke about correcting burning injustice – and the foreword of the embryonic Industrial Strategy – where she spoke about a ‘plan to shape a new future for the kind of country we will be when we have left [the EU]’.

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