Rishi Sunak shelves flagship Rwanda, smoking policies before election.. Rishi Sunak’s inability to deliver on key promises has not only embarrassed his administration but also undermined the confidence of his party. UK prime minister Rishi Sunak’s early election call and the subsequent shelving of his flagship policies have significantly impacted his campaign. The inability to deliver on key promises has not only embarrassed his administration but also undermined the confidence of his party and the public .
On Wednesday afternoon, Conservative MPs were caught off guard by Rishi Sunak’s sudden decision to call for an early general election. Even senior cabinet ministers were left in the dark on purpose. To keep the decision under wraps, they had even been sent a fake agenda for their meeting for the day. This abrupt move sparked a range of emotions within the party, from enthusiasm to outrage. It has also affected policies that are in the pipeline.
The Rwanda immigration policy has been a cornerstone of the Conservative Party’s approach to handling the immigration crisis in the UK. Initially proposed over two years ago, the policy aimed to deport people who crossed the English Channel in small boats to come to the UK. A small fraction of them would be shipped off to Rwanda. Sunak had earlier promised that the first flight carrying illegal immigrants to the African nation would take off before the elections.
The smoking ban delay
Another flagship policy of the Tories was his promise to ban young people from ever being able to buy tobacco legally, with the aim of creating a “smoke-free” next generation. However, this promise was left in doubt as the tobacco and vapes bill was conspicuously absent from the final business in the House of Commons. Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt did not include the bill among the legislation set to be rushed through by MPs before parliament was to be prorogued on Friday. Media reports indicated that the bill could not be pushed through due to the constraints of a free vote within the limited legislative timeframe.
What this means for his campaign
However, on the first day of his campaign, Sunak backtracked. He admitted that these deportations would not take place before the election. “The election is about the future,” Sunak stated. “If I’m elected, I’m going to get those flights off,” he said in response to a BBC reporter’s question.
Implications for Sunak’s campaign
The shelving of the Rwanda and smoking policies has severely dented Sunak’s campaign credibility. These setbacks highlight his inability to fulfill the ambitious promises he made, which in turn fuels frustration among Tory MPs and supporters who had hoped these measures would address critical issues such as immigration and public health.
Embarrassment and erosion of credibility: Sunak’s inability to deliver on these flagship policies underscores a broader issue of credibility. His failure to implement the Rwanda deportation plan, a policy that had been promoted as a tough stance on immigration, reveals a significant gap between his promises and actual deliverables. This discrepancy is likely to erode trust among his supporters and the wider electorate, who may view his campaign pledges with increased scepticism. According to the latest Ipsos poll results, conducted as local election results were announced in early May, 62 per cent of the general public say the current Conservative government has been running the country poorly.