With the general election campaign fully underway, FactCheck will be scrutinising parties of all stripes from across the UK – on their claims, their promises and their records.

Rishi Sunak has been Conservative leader and Prime Minister for eighteen months. Here are three promises he’s broken.

Flight to Rwanda before the election?

In February, journalist Piers Morgan said to Mr Sunak: “I’ll bet you a thousand pounds to a refugee charity you don’t get anybody on those planes [to Rwanda] before the election. Will you take that bet?” Mr Sunak shook Mr Morgan’s hand.

The Prime Minister later said he was “not a betting person” but wanted to show his “absolute commitment to the policy”.

But within days of calling the election, Mr Sunak admitted that he does not expect a flight to leave before the election (though we’ll have to wait until polling day to know for sure). He now says it will happen “if I am re-elected”.

Downing Street reportedly refused to honour the £1,000 bet on the basis that one person had left for Rwanda already. Though, as FactCheck recently reported, this person left voluntarily and was paid to go under a separate scheme to the flagship deportation programme.

No-fault evictions

Michael Gove, then a senior minister in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet, promised in February that no-fault evictions would be “outlawed” by the next election. That would mean landlords were no longer able to remove tenants without giving a reason.

But the government did not pass this legislation during the wash-up period – when parties work together in the final days before Parliament is dissolved to get key bills through on which they agree.

The deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “As happens at the end of the Parliament, when you announce a general election, there are large amounts of legislation on the books. We’ve only got two days to conclude it all.”

£10 fines for missed appointments

In his 2022 bid to become Conservative leader, Mr Sunak suggested introducing £10 fines for patients who miss GP and hospital appointments without sufficient notice.

But within days of taking office, he’d scrapped the pledge – after “listening to GPs”. Downing Street said at the time that the Prime Minister wants to deliver a “stronger NHS”.

The Conservative Party was contacted for comment.

You can read our FactCheck on three promises Keir Starmer has broken here.

(Photo credit: ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)