Angela Rayner today insisted she has ‘no desire’ to be Labour leader as she attempted to dampen claims she is agitating to replace Sir Keir Starmer.
The Deputy Prime Minister said she has ‘no desire’ to be promoted to her party’s top job, as she was grilled over her political ambitions.
Ms Rayner was recently accused of being ‘on manoeuvres’ when a leaked memo revealed she had urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to hike taxes on higher earners.
This sparked fevered speculation that the Deputy PM was positioning herself as a future Labour leader from the Left of her party.
But, speaking to Sky News this morning, Ms Rayner denied she was behind the leak as she ruled out a bid to replace Sir Keir in No10.
Asked about suggestions she had leaked the memo herself as a ‘mini-manifesto’ to set out her leadership pitch, Ms Rayner said: ‘Absolutely not.
‘And I don’t want to be leader of the Labour Party. I’m very happy and honoured to be Deputy Prime Minister of this country.
‘I have got a lot in my in-tray to prove that I can do the job that I’m doing and deliver on the milestones for the people of this country. That’s what I’m interested in.’
Angela Rayner insisted she has ‘no desire’ to be Labour leader as she attempted to dampen claims she is agitating to replace Sir Keir Starmer
Ms Rayner was recently accused of being ‘on manoeuvres’ when a leaked memo revealed she had urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to hike taxes on higher earners
Ms Rayner denied she was behind the leaked memo as she ruled out a bid to replace Sir Keir in No10
Ms Rayner added: ‘I have no desire to go for the leadership of the Labour Party.
‘My desire is to deliver for the people of this country who have given me opportunities beyond what I could have dreamed of.’
Challenged to say she ‘never’ wants to be Labour leader, Ms Rayner replied: ‘Never.’
The Deputy PM also revealed a leak inquiry is ‘under way’ into how her memo to Ms Reeves was made public.
She said: ‘I think there’s one under way, and quite rightly so, because leaks are very damaging.
‘It’s really damaging, because we have lots of sensitive conversations in the round, all of us, and then we make a collective decision.’
But Ms Rayner would not be drawn into saying whether she wanted to see taxes raised, as the memo suggested was needed.
She said: ‘As a matter of principle, I will continue to have those conversations with our Government.
‘On how we can bring down the cost of living for working people, support children out of poverty, build the houses we said we’re going to do, and protect our borders and security.’
Ms Rayner’s memo to Ms Reeves, reported to have been sent before the Chancellor’s spring statement in March, argued for tax rises instead of spending cuts.
Along with a series of tweaks to tax policy designed to raise around £3.5billion by increasing the burden on the wealthy, the Deputy PM also suggested stripping middle-class families of child benefit payments.
She was also revealed to have urged Ms Reeves to consider restricting access to the state pension and benefits for immigrants, while raising the fee they must pay to use the NHS.
The leaked memo was followed by reports that Ms Rayner is at war with Sir Keir and Ms Reeves over plans to slash the budget of her Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
In a series of increasingly heated meetings, the Deputy PM was said to have complained ‘forcibly’ about proposals to squeeze spending on housing.
