RISHI Sunak is failing to deliver on most of the five key pledges he made a year ago - which he said his government should be judged on, a new report has found.
In a speech given on January 4 last year, when he had been Prime Minister for just over two months, Sunak set out a list of key priorities.
The analysis from the Institute for Government (IfG) think tank has found two of the pledges - to cut NHS waiting lists, which it says he has most control over, and to "stop the boats" - are currently “off track”.
A pledge to “get debt falling” is also in doubt, according to the report.
Only one of the commitments - to halve inflation - has been achieved, while growing the economy is said to be “on track”.
The IfG noted: “He was not specific about the timeframe for delivering his pledges, aside from his pledge to halve inflation by the end of the year.
“He did however ask voters to judge his government on ‘the results we achieve'."
The report said that some targets were designed to be “relatively straightforward” – for example, inflation was already predicted to halve in 2023 and that debt should fall was an “existing fiscal rule”.
It also said the pledges were designed to give “maximum wiggle room” – such as if NHS waiting lists for an elective operation dropped by just one person compared to January 2023 or the economy grew by just 0.1%, when it was forecast to contract.
While inflation has been halved, the IfG notes it is not possible to say the cost of living crisis has eased, adding “after all, lower inflation does not mean consumer items become cheaper, just that their prices rise less slowly”.
With official GDP growth figure for the year not available as yet, the report says it’s “likely” Sunak will be able to say the economy grew in 2023 by 0.5% according to forecasts – and there will be “probably, but not much” further growth in 2024.
It also concludes Sunak’s “unequivocal” commitment to “stop the boats” of people seeking to claim asylum crossing the Channel will almost certainly not be met before the next General Election, even if his revised legislation to send asylum seekers to Rwanda gets off the ground.
The IfG concludes: “Sunak’s record is mixed. He has achieved his inflation pledge, and is on track for the economy to continue growing in 2024, albeit slowly.
“Debt is forecast to fall – in 2028/29 – but this relies on implausibly tight spending plans for which we have little detail, and therefore this pledge seems in doubt.
“Both cutting NHS waiting lists, the pledge over which Sunak had the most direct control, and stopping small boats crossings, the pledge he seemed least likely to meet last January, are off track.”
