By Richard Johnstone | 10 September 2014
Nearly two-thirds of people think political parties in the UK generally do not keep their election promises and fewer than one in five think politicians are good at explaining how their policies will be paid for, according to a poll for the Institute for Government.
Publishing its Programme for effective government report today, the think-tank said the clear message from the public – ahead of the final party conferences before next year’s elections – was that politicians should not make promises they cannot keep.
According to the Populus poll of 2,040 adults in Britain, around two-thirds say they would be more likely to vote for a party that demonstrated how it would implement its manifesto pledges.
However, only a few (15%) are confident that parties know how they will fulfil their polices in government.
Around 64% of people think that political parties in the UK generally do not keep their election promises.
IfG director Peter Riddell said that whichever party takes office in May 2015 will have to govern differently to deliver on their election promises and build public confidence.
‘There is a lot that parties can do over the coming months, both in thinking through the implications of their pledges and problems of implementation, and in preparing to be ministers and advisers,’ he said.
‘Crucially, this does not mean a shift to a technocratic or managerial view of government; rather the reverse. Our advice is about how to get the politics right in order to achieve political goals.’
The poll also found the public’s top priorities were for politicians to take decisions about the long-term direction of the country and get best value for taxpayers.
As well as fulfilling the promises they made before they were elected, politicians should also run government itself more professionally, the poll found.
However, the survey also found that members of the public thought that getting re-elected, scoring political points and making big announcements in the media were the things prioritised.
