I’ve not given up on winning, says Rishi Sunak

On Sunday evening, following the England football team’s last-gasp equaliser against Slovakia, Mr Sunak posted on social media: “It’s not over until it’s over.”

Asked if he would be attempting the political equivalent of a Jude Bellingham-esque overhead kick to improve his party’s standing, Mr Sunak, a keen cricket fan, said he was more likely to try a “flashy cover drive”.

He added that people were still making up their mind and that while not everyone would agree with him, he had the “courage of my convictions”.

Acknowledging that people had frustrations with the party and with him, the prime minister said it had been a “difficult few years” pointing to the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

He also said that on NHS waiting lists, he had not made “as much progress as I would like”.

Mr Sunak said he would be staying on as an MP after the election.

Asked if he would be staying on as leader of the Conservatives, Mr Sunak said he was focused on the general election campaign.

“I love this party dearly and of course I’ll always put myself at the service of it and the service of my country.”