20 of 32 2024 manifesto pledges are currently off track
What did the parties promise? What has actually happened? Real data vs manifesto pledges — tracked and assessed against official statistics. Labour = in government; all others = opposition pledges yet to be tested.
Labour in government — tracking their manifesto pledges against real-world delivery and official statistics.
Labour Government Scorecard
Delivery assessed against official statistics. Only Labour can be held accountable for delivery — they form the government.
Labour pledges, and how far each has travelled
“40,000 extra appointments per week to cut waiting times”
Extra appointments are being added but the waiting list remains around 7.33m pathways (~6.23m patients) at end July 2026. Progress is happening but the 18-week standard is still being missed for roughly 4 million patients. Government says the trend is now downward for the first time in years.
“Build 1.5 million homes over the parliament”
England added 208,600 net homes in 2024-25 — 70% of the 300,000/yr target, and down 6% on the year before. Of that, 190,600 were new build. Planning reforms have been legislated but the construction pipeline takes years to feed through, and supply has now fallen for three consecutive years. Highly unlikely to hit 1.5m over the parliament on this trajectory. Source: MHCLG, net additional dwellings, England, 2024-25.
“Reform planning system — reintroduce mandatory housing targets”
Labour revised the NPPF in December 2024, reinstating mandatory housing targets. The policy change is done; whether it translates to completions is the ongoing question.
“No rises in income tax, NI rates, or VAT”
Employee NI and income tax rates unchanged as pledged. However, employer National Insurance contributions were raised by 1.2pp to 15% in the October 2024 Budget — widely seen as a breach of the spirit of the pledge, though technically employee rates were not raised.
“Deliver economic growth — highest sustained growth in the G7”
UK growth remains below the G7 average. The government points to trade deals and investment pledges but growth has not yet materially improved relative to peers.
“Employment Rights Bill — ban zero-hours contracts, strengthen worker rights”
The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent in December 2025, so the legislative half of the pledge is met. The rights themselves are being commenced in phases and most of the headline ones are not yet in force. Some measures are live — the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, day-one paternity leave and statutory sick pay changes took effect between Royal Assent and April 2026. But the unfair dismissal change reduces the qualifying period to six months for dismissals from 1 January 2027 — it is not the day-one protection the pledge promised — and the zero-hours measures (the right to guaranteed hours and to reasonable notice) have no confirmed date, with timings to be set after consultation. Passing a law and granting a right are different things, and on this pledge they are more than a year apart. Source: DBT, "Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act: timeline update" (updated 7 August 2026).
“"Smash the gangs" — dismantle people-smuggling networks, increase returns”
Small boat arrivals rose to 41,472 in 2025 — 13% above 2024 (36,816) and well above 2023 (29,437). A new returns agreement with some EU partners has been signed but removals remain low. The "smash the gangs" rhetoric has not yet produced a measurable reduction in crossings. Source: Home Office, Illegal entry routes to the UK detailed dataset (YE March 2026), table IER_D01.
“Recruit 13,000 additional neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs”
Police numbers are broadly flat. The neighbourhood policing guarantee has been announced with funding committed, but the 13,000 additional officers are expected over the parliament — too early to assess delivery.
“GB Energy — publicly owned clean energy company”
GB Energy was established in 2025 as planned. However, the 2030 clean power target is considered very ambitious by National Grid and may slip — still being treated as the official goal.
“VAT on private school fees — use revenue for state education”
VAT on private school fees was implemented in January 2025 as pledged. Revenue is being directed into state school spending — the policy is delivered.
“Fix the NHS — end the "10-year problem in 10 years"”
A 10-Year NHS Plan has been published and reforms are underway. It is far too early to assess delivery against a decade-long structural challenge. Direction of travel looks credible but impact on patients is not yet visible.
Pledge assessments are based on publicly available official statistics and are updated periodically. Delivery tracking applies only to Labour as the governing party. Last full review: Jun 2026.