I recently discovered that you used to be able to buy election manifestos in WHSmith. It came as such a surprise to me that anyone would hand over cash to read what political parties were promising that it made me wonder whether things have gone wrong somewhere along the line since.

These days you can’t move for party political broadcasts, which might be part of the reason that most of us would think twice before handing over £10, or whatever the cost used to be.

But social media can’t give the full picture of what the parties are promising if they win, so you could argue that a list setting out what to expect would be more useful than ever.

So why is it that talking about manifesto launches heading our way this week is more likely to elicit a withering look than a “do tell me more” from most people, and what can parties do about it?

Manifestos are carefully drafted to tell a story, as Marc Stears – who helped write Labour’s offering in 2015 – told Times Radio this weekend. But they are also an important practical document, held up by governments as a way to get difficult legislation through the House of Lords when peers seek to push back.

Policies included in the manifesto are seen as more sacred than those which are not – as they are accepted to have the support of the majority........

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