Angela Rayner has said she has not changed her mind about nuclear weapons even though she supports Labour’s policy to keep and renew them.
The deputy Labour leader voted against the renewal of Trident in 2016 but said on Monday that she supported Labour’s so-called “triple lock” – a commitment to maintain the UK’s nuclear deterrent round the clock, build four new nuclear submarines, and carry out future upgrades.
Asked in an interview with the BBC about the discrepancy, Rayner said: “I haven’t changed my mind. The vote that we had some years ago mentioned nothing about multilateral disarmament and what I feel is really important for the long term is that globally we should be looking at disarmament of nuclear weapons, but that has to be done in combination with other countries.”
A Labour source said Rayner did not vote to renew Trident in 2016 because the wording of the motion did not include a commitment to multilateral disarmament.
Her remarks on Monday made clear she was committed to Labour’s policy, but struck a different tone to Keir Starmer’s.
Rayner is among a number of Labour frontbenchers who voted against the renewal of Trident in 2016, under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, also voted against it.
According to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Rayner wrote to them in 2020 saying: “I want a world without nuclear weapons and that’s what I want a Labour government to work towards. When the last Tory government tabled their motion to renew Trident in the House of Commons, I voted against it.”
In a separate interview with ITV, Rayner said there was no split in Labour over the issue and that while global insecurity existed, “Labour will be committed to our Trident programme”.
If Labour wins the election next month, Rayner will become deputy prime minister. Ordinarily this means she would be in charge of running the country and the UK’s nuclear arsenal should Starmer become incapacitated.
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Starmer unveiled Labour’s triple lock on nuclear weapons on Monday morning and said his entire shadow cabinet supported the policy. Kicking off the second full week of election campaigning with a focus on security and defence, the Labour leader said the deterrent was “the foundation of any plan to keep Britain safe”.
Asked about the views of shadow cabinet members such as Rayner and Lammy, Starmer said: “I lead this party. I have changed this party. If we are privileged to come in to serve, I will be the prime minister of the United Kingdom and I’ve made my commitment to this absolutely clear, and I’ve got my whole cabinet, shadow cabinet, behind me.”
Starmer was speaking at the Fusilier museum in Bury and was flanked by 10 Labour parliamentary candidates who are former members of the military. He reiterated his aim to spend 2.5% of UK GDP on defence when resources allowed.
Asked whether he would authorise the use of nuclear weaponry, Starmer said: “We have to be prepared to use it. Now, nobody who aspires to be prime minister would set out the circumstances in which it would be used. That would be irresponsible. But it is there as a part, a vital part, of our defence.”
