Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick has called on Andy Burnham to rule out using an estimated £18 billion inheritance-based levy to fund proposed social-care reforms, describing the possibility as a “death tax”. He also criticised the Prime Minister for excluding Nigel Farage from cross-party discussions on social care, arguing that this was disrespectful to Reform voters and could undermine efforts to build wider political support.

The dispute comes amid pressure to find a long-term funding solution for adult social care, an issue that has repeatedly proved politically difficult because of its potential cost and implications for taxation and inheritance. Jenrick’s intervention frames Reform as opposing new taxes on estates while challenging Burnham and the Government over both the substance of any plan and the process for developing it.