From Is There More to Life Than Shoes:
In the court case brought against him for breach of contract over a referendum on the EU Constitution, Brown's personal barrister has just told the court that "manifesto pledges are not subject to legitimate expectation".
Given the content of most political manifestos, isn't this a welcome relief? Imagine a world in which they actually did what they promised? Scarcely bears thinking about.
'Carlill v The Carbolic Smokeball Company' laid down in the 19th century that the buyer was not entitled to rely on patently extravagant claims. These were held to be 'mere advertisers' puff' and not any part of a contract.
The copywriters employed by The Carbolic Smokeball Company have written every political manifesto in the UK since.
Posted by: campbell | February 07, 2008 at 04:30 PM