Asked if Reform are performing better than the Conservatives in opposing the government, Atkins told Camilla Tominey on GB News: “Oh, I don’t think that’s the case at all. Sadly, the Reform Party had the impact that we have lost many excellent, hard-working Conservative MPs from this Parliament, which means that we have this Labour super-majority.

“So my message to voters loud and clear is, if you’re as sick of this government as I already am, then please help us, as Conservatives, [to] defeat them at the next election. But if I may just go on this broader theme of hypocrisy of this government, my goodness me, there’s a lot to go on, isn’t there?

“We’ve had the front pages today, as you say, of a government that is removing this allowance from vulnerable pensioners who may be on an income of 13,000 or 14,000 they are expecting them to stump up the money for that.

“We know that’s going to have a very real impact on some of our most vulnerable pensioners. But also about the family farm tax.”

On the winter fuel allowance change, she said: “I think the much more effective way to fight this policy, rather than allowing a minority party leader to make these claims, is to work as an effective opposition to this Labour government and draw out all of the problems with their Budget.

“They have a problem with the massive hike in National Insurance that they are putting on employers that’s going to have a huge impact across the board, including with job losses.

“We should look at the family farm tax, the hypocrisy of the reports this weekend in the papers of a Labour MP’s own family arranging their affairs in such a way just ahead of the Budget so that we believe they won’t be eligible, they won’t have to pay this inheritance tax.”

Asked if Tory MPs should follow Nigel Farage’s example and not claim energy bills on expenses, Atkins said: “I’m sorry, no Conservative will ever follow Mr Farage.

“The fact is that the reason this is in the news is because of Labour’s decision to remove winter fuel payments from pensioners. That is the mischief…that’s why we forced the vote on Labour MPs, that’s the hypocrisy that we are focused on. And I’m not, as I say, I’m afraid I’m not going to take Nigel Farage’s lead on anything.”

She added: “It is for individual MPs to decide their expenses claims, what they’re prepared to claim for. What I will say, however, is that we as Conservatives are the effective opposition to this Budget of broken promises, and we are working very hard to hold this government to account, but we need people to join us so that we can hold them to account.”