HOW TO WRITE AN IMPACTFUL MANIFESTO So you’re thinking of running for election? Well, one of the most important things that you need is your manifesto — a document that tells voters what you’re going to do for them if elected. We want to take you through the four steps of writing an impactful manifesto to help your message reach voters efficiently. STEP 1 — GATHERING IDEAS Right, first thing’s first. You need to ask yourself two very simple questions: why am I standing, and what do I want to achieve? This will be the starting point of your manifesto. Your manifesto is broken down into three 100 word sections. The first describes why you’d be good for the job, the second explains why you’re standing, and the final section outlines what you want to achieve. Once the first section is done, it’s time to start brainstorming some ideas and doing a bit of research. You might want to consider...
›› The Students’ Union strategic plan ›› Talking to the current officers ›› Checking out the policies coming from Union Council ›› What matters to your friends and other students ›› Having a detailed look at the job descriptions STEP 2 — BOILING DOWN THE IDEAS Now that you have all your ideas about what you want to cover in your manifesto, it’s time to start the cull. Some of your ideas, whilst brilliant, might not be realistic — for example building a giant slide through Student Central sounds like an amazing idea, but will (probably) never happen. Remember you only have 100 words per section, so use them wisely!
HUDDERSFIELD SU ELECTIONS MARCH 2016