But Whately said: “I’ve had those arguments sometimes with colleagues, Miriam included, about whether we should be doing the kind of policies that some other countries do. I think Hungary was the obvious example of more paying people to essentially have children. Those are things are incredibly expensive. We’re not going down that route.”
“What we have to do is we have to make sure that our tax system supports growth, supports the economy,” she added.
Whately vowed that the Conservatives would meanwhile clamp down on access to working-age benefits. “The way that we are assessing people for access to sickness benefits is very flawed,” she said. “A huge amount of assessments are done over the phone, just with forms, people not being seen in person… it means that those who really are sick are now having to sort of compete with all the benefits of those who have seen on the internet how they can most effectively make sure they maximize their claim.”
Pressed on whether the party’s opponents could seize on policies curbing access to social security — as has happened to the Trump administration in the U.S. as it clamped down on programs like food assistance — Whately said: “This is specifically about people who could and should be working. It isn’t a policy about people who have disabilities and who are on the Universal Credit health component.”
Whately was also pressed on her former friendship with Robert Jenrick, a one-time Conservative leadership contender who has defected to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
The Tory conference center this year boasts a spoof Bayeux Tapestry on prominent display — which includes several images of Jenrick, the former shadow justice secretary. Whately and Jenrick were close colleagues until his switch to Reform earlier this year.
“I’m not feeling like we’re missing him right now,” Whately said. “I considered Rob a friend, and now he’s not a friend in my life … because of the way he behaved, and because he lied to people and deceived people.”
Hear the full the interview on the Politics at Sam and Anne’s podcast.