Rishi Sunak makes it to one year as PM, but any celebrations in Number 10 will be muted

Rishi Sunak has survived a year as prime minister but with the country facing numerous issues and the Conservatives far behind in the polls, any celebrations in Number 10 will be muted.

Mr Sunak has lasted more than seven times as long as Liz Truss’s fleeting tenure as he marks his first anniversary in Downing Street on Wednesday.

He may have steadied the ship after his predecessor's chaotic 49-day spell as PM, but Mr Sunak and his party remain deeply unpopular.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said Mr Sunak "is more focused on the continual delivery for the public rather than marking an anniversary".

He is set to face Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions as Westminster remains largely occupied by the unfolding horrors in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The Commons' green benches are expected to feature two new Labour faces however, after the party overturned two huge Conservative majorities, in Tamworth and in Mid Bedfordshire.

The losses of two seats last won on majorities of more than 19,000 means many Conservative MPs are worried about their own prospects in the general election expected next year.

An increasingly perilous international picture is adding to Mr Sunak’s challenges, as war grinds on in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict creates a powder keg in the Middle East.

Mr Sunak’s own five priorities – halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing the national debt, cutting hospital waiting lists, and stopping the boats bringing migrants across the English Channel – are all proving difficult to meet.

He may be on course to bring inflation down to around 5.3% by the end of the year, with September’s figure holding steady at 6.7%.

But the economy is growing weakly and the national debt has hit almost £2.6 trillion, around 97.8% of GDP, a measure of national income.

More than 26,500 people have been detected crossing the Channel in small boats this year, meaning Mr Sunak is a long way from being able to say he has stopped them.

The failure to end the strikes by NHS doctors has hampered Mr Sunak’s plan to cut waiting lists.

There have been reports of letters of no confidence in Mr Sunak being submitted, though there is no chosen successor even if Tory MPs did take the unlikely, nuclear option.

He is coming under growing pressure to issue a tax cut, with speculation Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is considering action in the spring Budget.

Whether he survives until that point is not guaranteed, however, amid rumours a reshuffle so Mr Sunak can build his election-fighting team is on the horizon.

Some Tory MPs would like to see a colleague more eager to reduce the burden on the public leading the Treasury.

Labour’s shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth gave his own assessment of "inaction man" Mr Sunak not being “strong enough to turn Britain’s fortunes around".

He said: "The past year has seen weak Rishi Sunak pushed around by a chaotic and divided Conservative Party, allowed Liz Truss to dictate government policy, and hopelessly failed to deliver for struggling working families paying more on their mortgage thanks to the Tories."

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