Which policies will Rishi Sunak retain and which ones might he bin?

In his short time as Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak has already moved to rip up some of predecessor Liz Truss’s flagship policies.Embattled Ms Truss dramatically resigned last week after just six weeks in the top job, which saw her economic agenda unleash political and financial turmoil.Mr Sunak, who entered Downing Street on Tuesday after a truncated Tory leadership contest, has pledged to rectify Ms Truss’s ‘mistakes’ and uphold the Conservatives’ 2019 general election manifesto.Here is a look at what he might do now he has won his battle for No 10.– FrackingA day after taking office, the new Prime Minister reimposed the fracking ban in England that his predecessor controversially scrapped.Ms Truss had riled many of her backbench MPs, opposition parties and environmentalists by ending the fracking moratorium, which led to dozens of Tories refusing to back the Government in a night of chaos in the Commons before her resignation.Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said he is committed to the effective ban on fracking set out in the 2019 manifesto, after he was pressed on the issue at his first Prime Minister’s Questions.The PM told the Commons he ‘stands by’ the manifesto, which said the Conservative Party will not support fracking unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely.– Pensions triple lockJust last week Ms Truss insisted she was ‘completely committed’ to the manifesto pledge on the pensions triple lock after facing a backlash when No 10 suggested it might be scrapped due to the squeeze on the public finances in the wake of the mini-budget fiasco.But Downing Street on Wednesday refused to commit to the pledge on increasing state pensions in line with soaring inflation, as Mr Sunak reviews key spending commitments ahead of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s delayed budget on November 17.Mr Sunak’s press secretary said: ‘He will do what’s right and compassionate for the most vulnerable.’The political pressure surrounding pensions for the Conservatives may also mean that the triple lock does remain in place.– Defence spendingNo 10 also declined to commit to Ms Truss’s promise to raise defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 as Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt complete their review.In his first leadership bid over the summer, Mr Sunak was already unenthusiastic about large-scale spending commitments and refused to set ‘arbitrary’ goals on defence spending.The straitened situation the Government finds itself in thanks to soaring inflation and rising interest rates is likely to reinforce his instincts to align with the spending cuts already hinted at by Mr Hunt.Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who survived Mr Sunak’s reshuffle to retain his role, will be on resignation watch if the Government backtracks on the defence spending commitment.– BenefitsMr Sunak has also not committed to increasing welfare payments in line with inflation.This was a flashpoint for Ms Truss, whose refusal to commit to the existing policy – which dictates that the state pension and benefits should increase by 10.1% from April next year – caused unrest within her Cabinet.Tory critics had threatened to rebel if Ms Truss backtracked on the commitment, which would hit claimants with real-terms cuts.– TaxMr Sunak’s commitment to balancing the books is well known and is what saw him increase the tax burden to its highest level for 70 years as chancellor despite his personal preference for lower taxes.While Ms Truss spent the summer campaigning on a platform of tax cuts, Mr Sunak argued that inflation needed to be tamed before he would slash taxes.He is therefore unlikely to deviate from the tax U-turns already set out by Mr Hunt, including on Ms Truss’s plan to ditch the planned increase to corporation tax.Mr Sunak is expected to keep the corporation tax rise to 25% next year, having said he would over the summer.Mr Hunt has also already confirmed the scrapping of April’s planned 1p cut to the basic rate of income tax, which will stay at 20p indefinitely.Despite Mr Hunt ripping up vast swathes of Ms Truss’s economic vision, the plans to cut national insurance contributions and a reduction in stamp duty, which are already going through Parliament, are so far continuing.– Windfall taxMs Truss was staunchly opposed to opposition parties’ calls to extend the windfall tax on oil and gas companies to use the money to help people with the rising cost of living.Mr Sunak introduced the windfall tax as chancellor in May as an attempt to rein in the astronomical profits of the oil and gas firms, but allowed them to get tax relief in exchange for investment.The new PM is now facing renewed demands to go further after Shell avoided paying any extra windfall tax despite making record profits so far this year, as the oil giant said it was investing heavily in the North Sea.Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi on Thursday did not rule out the move, telling LBC ‘the Chancellor and the Prime Minister will look at every decision’ ahead of their autumn Budget.– DeregulationCentral to Ms Truss’s growth-boosting vision were investment zones where planning restrictions are relaxed, a ‘Big Bang 2.0’ programme of deregulation of the financial services sector, the scrapping of environmental protections, and allowing in more skilled migrants.But the PM’s official spokesman said: ‘There are no plans for supply-side reforms, as we previously discussed.’That’s not to say there won’t be elements the Chancellor may or may not wish to come forward with in his autumn statement.’– ImmigrationThe new PM is reconsidering immigration policies as part of his overhaul of Ms Truss’s agenda, Downing Street has indicated.Ms Truss’s plans to relax immigration rules to help businesses plug vacancies put her at odds with her Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, who has been controversially reappointed to the role by Mr Sunak.The 2019 manifesto – which Mr Sunak has vowed to uphold – included a pledge to reduce overall net migration.His Government will ‘control migration’ but will not ‘turn the tap off to talent’, according to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.