What the Tories are getting wrong about Labour breaking manifesto pledges

It seems the only thing anyone wants to talk about at the moment is the Labour government and whether it’s doing what it promised. Take the changes to the Employment Bill for example, where the recognition of a six-month probation period for new employees is being portrayed as a U-turn.

If I had a pound for every time the leader of the Opposition has called for the Chancellor’s resignation over the last week, my Christmas shopping would be covered – although I will forego that bonus if Kemi Badenoch promises not to do her impression of a school bully, as seen her Budget response, ever again. It smacks of the sort of petty behaviour that annoys the public and undermines confidence.

Let’s take the Employment Bill first. My party, the Liberal Democrats, originally tabled an amendment in the Commons calling for exactly what has now been added – the six-month probation period.

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Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have been criticised for breaking manifesto commitments but, sometimes, serious politicians need to make compromises (Picture: Carl Court) | Getty Images

Grown-up politics

Business and the Lords have called for it, and the government sat down with both employers and trade unions before agreeing to it. To me, it’s simply a recognition of the fact that if they want to make the changes they promised, there will have to be compromises.

Maybe it’s being a liberal, but to me that is grown-up, mature politics. It is possible to compromise on detail without abandoning your principles or goals.

Sometimes the path you need to take has a different route to the one originally planned. If the way ahead is blocked, look and see if there is a way around.

It’s time that all political parties stopped playing into the hands of enemies of democracy by seizing on everything as an excuse for a row. Which is what some got wrong about the Budget.

It has flaws but also things that we should applaud – the abolition of the two-child benefit cap, scrapping of the ‘rape clause’, and increased pensions for miners and support staff.

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What a manifesto should be

And in Scotland, the £820 million in consequential funding, on top of £14 million more for Grangemouth and £22 million for Inchgreen, should be reasons for our two governments to sit down and work out the best way to spend it.

Instead, we know that “because Anas Sarwar asked” for it, it will be the start of the election campaign contest for credit.

Parties spend months meeting charities and experts to ensure what the country needs is reflected in their values and commitments. The manifesto shows who you are. However, to consider it a list of actions which politicians cannot deviate from without punishment is frankly farcical.

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I’m not talking about abandoning principles. But running a country is a moving feast. No two hours are the same. The markets can change, wars can start.

We should never expect a government to introduce a manifesto policy, simply because it was written down months before, if it has since become the wrong thing to do.

This isn’t letting politicians off the hook. It’s holding them to account for how they adapt to an ever-changing world.

I have often likened this job to that of a detective. To help people, we must leave no stone unturned. Explore as many different avenues as possible to find a solution. I expect our leaders to do the same.

Christine Jardine is Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West