Dame Andrea Jenkyns has defended Robert Jenrick’s attack on the Conservatives but said that “everybody” in Reform wants to abolish inheritance tax, full stop.”

Speaking on GB News she said, “I think what [Jenrick] learned in government himself, and you know, you and I did as well, Jacob, [is] that you cannot promise things that you’re not necessarily going to deliver.

“Because let’s face it, what state is our country going to be in, the public finances when we get to the next general election after a Labour government? So I think he’s just trying to be a realist.

“Everybody in my party wants to abolish inheritance tax, full stop. But we’ve also got to be realistic. We can’t make promises until we know the public finances.

“I’m not disagreeing with you on this, but the fact is, the public finances are in a state. Unemployment, youth unemployment is at an all-time high, and it’s going to only get worse.

“So why make promises so far away from an election that you can’t speak? With Reform it’s about restoring the trust with the public.

“I mean, like myself in Greater Lincolnshire, I didn’t make promises, but I’m making savings, so I think it’s about getting in there and then making savings and delivering for the taxpayer.

“Lots of people can go through different stages; [Robert Jenrick] is just trying to be a realist. I remember Jacob, you writing to me when I was the Tory MP, when you were Leader of the House, telling me to sign up for MPs to do that course, the diversity course, and then you changed your mind a few years later. I think a lot of people go through transitions like this.”