Immigration, hospitals: what other manifesto promises have Tories broken?

From doctor numbers to Northern Powerhouse Rail, the 2019 manifesto is full of unfulfilled pledges, says John Rentoul

Boris Johnson enjoys his 2019 election manifesto (Getty)

On immigration, the 2019 Conservative manifesto promised “overall numbers will come down”. Now we know net immigration last year hit a record high.

Nick Timothy, chief of staff to Theresa May in No 10, revealed this week that Boris Johnson only agreed the manifesto pledge “under pressure from his advisers, and when the manifesto was published he called ministers telling them not to repeat the promise because he disagreed with it”.

The manifesto also pledged: “We will build and fund 40 new hospitals over the next 10 years.” On Thursday afternoon, health secretary Stephen Barclay announced in the Commons that not all the projects will be completed by 2030, which has long been the government’s flexible interpretation of the 10-year timeframe.