Taking the pledge

When we asked for ideas for a new pledge card in the latest issue of the Fabian Review, little did we know that a snap general election was on the cards. Now, with that election just weeks away, Labour needs to connect with the voters – and fast. So what promises should the party make to win their support? What are the policy priorities that will most resonate come polling day?

Pledge cards have been a feature of election campaigns ever since Tony Blair famously asked the electorate to hang on to his 1997 version ‘to see we keep our promises’. Whether you see the cards as a clever campaign tool, or simply an example of bite-size politics, they have played a huge role in elections ever since, distilling the policy-making process into a handful of pithy promises to the people. As the Labour team gets to work putting together the manifesto, the party has already launched its own variation on the theme – Jeremy’s 10 pledges – with the themes Labour will be campaigning on. But how about the even more abridged version?

Twenty years ago, the five promises on Tony Blair’s famous pledge card centred on class sizes, criminal justice, NHS waiting lists, the young unemployed and tax. Some of those issues featured again in the new pledge cards contributed to the Fabian Review by our panel of parliamentarians, Fabians, writers and academics.  Are their priorities the right ones? We’d love to hear your views and we’ll publish the best ideas on our website as inspiration for the Labour party.

What would you put on a pledge card for the 2017 campaign?