Key principles for a suitable, feasible and acceptable political manifesto

The first of August: a renewed dedication to some reading and thinking!

Key principles for a suitable, feasible and acceptable political manifesto for any party (or coalition) that might win my support and active commitment …

✓ Being sceptical — interrogating the issues and being wary of peddling simple answers to complex questions;
✓ Being sustainable — avoiding commitments that cost too much to stick with;
✓ Being restrained — asking not what the party or coalition might do, but what it should do;
✓ Being precise — wielding a scalpel rather than a hammer;
✓ Being patient — being prepared to give policies the time and effort to work;
✓ Prepared to be fallible — being realistic about the chances of failure and modest about what you can achieve;
✓ Being responsible — having an attachment to universal values and giving voice to the disadvantaged and voiceless, and recognising the consequent responsibility — that must not be ducked — to provide principled but effective leadership in our communities and society.

Inspired by a book (The Long Game: How Obama Defied Washington and Redefined America’s Role in the World. By Derek Chollet) which argues that Obama plays a long game in his foreign policy, with a checklist of similar principles which he applies to problems and possibilities.