Every pledge Rishi Sunak made during the Tory leadership election may never be delivered, it has emerged.
Downing Street confirmed that the long list of promises were now under review just three months after he made them.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said: “We’re looking at all the prime minister’s leadership pledges and whether it’s the right time to bring them forward.”
They include a promise to cut the basic rate of income tax to 16p by 2029 and remove VAT from energy bills for a year.
The announcement came shortly after Sunak announced he was U-turning on his decision not to attend the Cop27 summit.
“We need to take some time to make sure what is deliverable and what is possible, and engaging with stakeholders and with the relevant secretaries of state as well,” the PM’s spokesperson said.
“Obviously, those are pledges that were made a few months ago now and the context is somewhat different, obviously, economically. We need to look again.”
Other pledges which are now in doubt include a 10-point plan on immigration that Sunak unveiled in July.
It included plans to end the “farce” of housing migrants in hotels, “holding the French to account” for the number of small boats cross the English Channel and “busting the asylum backlog”.
His spokesperson said he was “definitely committed to the sentiment” of the pledge, but could not confirm it will ever come to fruition.
Bizarrely, the spokesperson also refused to confirm that Sunak still stood by the promises he made as chancellor, a role he only resigned from less than four months ago.
And she said that while he still stood by the Tories’ election manifesto from 2019, he is not committed to delivering every promise in it.
Asked for examples of manifesto pledges he still supported, she said: “A stronger NHS, better schools and safer streets.”
In prime minister’s questions, Sunak also refused to honour his previous commitment to increase pensions and benefits by the rate of inflation, which is currently at around 10 per cent.
He told SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford it “would not be right to comment on individual policy measures” before the autumn statement on November 17.
He added: “I think everyone knows we do face a challenging economic outlook and difficult decisions will need to be made.
“What I would say is that we will always, as my track record as chancellor demonstrates, have fairness and compassion at the heart of everything we do.”