Rishi Sunak to review leadership campaign pledges

Rishi Sunak will review the pledges he made during his summer Tory leadership campaign, No 10 has said.

The prime minister will examine "whether now is the right time to bring them forward," his spokeswoman said.

Mr Sunak lost to Liz Truss in a ballot of Tory members - but was selected to replace her by Tory MPs when her premiership fell apart.

He announced dozens of policies during his summer campaign including tax cuts.

But his spokeswoman said the economic "context" had changed since the promises were made.

"We need to take some time to make sure what is deliverable and what is possible," she added.

Mr Sunak did not make any policy pledges during the four-day contest to replace Liz Truss last month.

But he made several commitments during his unsuccessful seven-week leadership tilt against her.

His campaign promises included a pledge to scrap the 5% VAT rate on household energy bills, and lower the basic rate of income tax by 4% before the end of the next parliament.

Mr Sunak also promised to keep April's 1.25p in the pound rise to National Insurance - currently due to be reversed on Sunday in the wake of Ms Truss's mini-budget in September.

He also pledged to place an annual cap on the number of refugees the UK accepts, tighten asylum qualification criteria, and withhold aid from countries that won't take migrant returns.

He has also restored the ban on shale gas fracking in England that was lifted by Ms Truss. During the summer, he said he supported fracking where projects have local consent.

The review comes as Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt consider tax increases and spending cuts ahead of a budget on 17 November.

Ahead of the statement, the Treasury has been warning that across-the-board tax hikes will be required to ensure the government meets its medium-term targets on spending and debt.