Election Supporting Statement (Manifesto) Guide

Your candidate support statement, sometimes referred to as a manifesto, should simply state what you plan to do in your role and what changes you would make. It isn’t an excuse to bad mouth your opposition, or make unrealistic promises. Think about what you can achieve and what other students would respond to well. You might want to talk to current students, look at previous manifestos and review student surveys. 

What kind of things do I need to put in my manifesto?

Well firstly, you need to do your research! In order to inform your manifesto, why not go out and talk to students or those on your course? Ask them about issues that are affecting them as students and what they would like to see improving.

Then you need to have a structure and content! Introduce yourself! What course are you studying? Where are you from? What are your hobbies? Ensure that you are relatable. Why did you want run for the position in the first place? What inspired you?
What are the things that you would like to change/introduce? Be realistic, and never promise things that you cannot deliver. Why not use terms such as “I aim to..” or “I will lobby..” After all, you will be answerable to the student body and will be scrutinised if you have been unsuccessful in achieving your manifesto points.
 Do not promise too much though!

Remember to have your manifesto and a picture ready before you complete your online nomination as the system will time out. 

Some Top Tips for Writing your Manifesto:

• Be concise and use clear language. Avoid long, complicated words - you won’t win awards for being clever and you might just alienate important voters.
• Set out your previous experience  and how this will help you if you got elected.
• Set out your goals for your time in office and ensure they are realistic and achievable.
• Your manifesto is about you and not your opponents. Don’t waste words trying to discredit them.
• Talk about your skills that would indicate to voters your suitability for the role.
• It doesn’t have to be long - in fact it shouldn’t be. Short and sweet works best. You’re only allowed 300 or 500 words that will be displayed to voters on the website. 
• Be creative and inspiring.

Once you have drafted your manifesto, feel free to run it past us if you would like some feedback.

Good Luck!

If you require further guidance contact marc.caldecott@glyndwr.ac.uk 

Sample Manifesto Template

We want to make writing your manifestos as easy as possible so we’ve put together a simple guide you can use to get yours together. You don’t have to use the format, but feel free to if it helps.

Introduction:

Hi, My name is……and I am running for the position(s) of……..because……..

My experience and skills:

I have experience in…….and have developed the following skills…….I believe these make me an ideal candidate.

What I plan to do if elected:

If elected I would aim to:

- Objective 1 (e.g. hold a new series of events aimed at getting more people involved in X to increase outreach and reputation)

- Objective 2 (e.g. increase social activity by running weekly socials in different venues across London)

- Objective 3 (e.g. increase funding by seeking out new sponsorship opportunities)

I think these aims will have a positive impact on X because…..

Closing statement:

Thank you for reading my manifesto and feel free to get in contact with me to ask my any questions about my ideas by contacting me at…….