One year in power: how to mark Rishi Sunak’s report card

After a year in 10 Downing Street, there’s room for improvement says John Rentoul

Prime minister Rishi Sunak’s personal ratings have declined (PA)

Rishi Sunak was under no illusion when he accepted the King’s invitation to form a government a year ago about the scale of the task facing him. His first job was to restore order to the public finances after the disaster of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s “fiscal event” a month earlier.

Truss and Jeremy Hunt, her emergency chancellor, had reversed some of the most damaging measures, but Hunt and Sunak now had to prepare for an autumn statement – in effect a new Budget – to try to stabilise the situation.

Any attempt to assess the achievements and mistakes of Sunak’s first year needs to start with his success in calming the markets. Labour has exploited the turmoil by selling the message that Truss had caused lasting damage by “crashing the economy”, but interest rates were going up worldwide anyway, and Hunt and Sunak did well to limit the fallout.