Angela Rayner admits she still vapes - on same day Labour minister launches crackdown on vape shops

By SAM MERRIMAN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT and GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 15:44, 11 August 2026 | Updated: 15:44, 11 August 2026 Angela Rayner has admitted that she still vapes and her children are ‘disgusted’ by her habit – on the same day she launched a crackdown on vape shops. The Communities Secretary said she cannot give up smoking e-cigarettes despite trying to quit because her nicotine addiction has led her to a ‘lifetime of purgatory’. Ms Rayner’s admission came on the same day Labour pledged a crackdown on lax planning rules that have seen high streets 'hollowed out' by vape shops, bookies and rogue businesses. The former deputy prime minister said that as a teenager she ‘thought it was cool to smoke’, but added that she has since failed to quit vaping after her children called her ‘the vape dragon’. Asked on Tuesday whether she still vaped during an interview to promote Labour’s crackdown on vape shops, Ms Rayner admitted: ‘Unfortunately, I do.’ ‘I’m from a generation where, as a teenager, I thought it was cool to smoke. It wasn’t, and my kids are disgusted by me vaping,’ the Communities Secretary told LBC. ‘I started vaping to give up smoking. I’ve had a problem with nicotine since I was a teenager, and I’ve had it on and off. I wish I could just give it up completely. ‘I would be devastated if my kids started vaping. And that’s why I want to crack down on these vape shops that are outside schools, all these flavours that they get in. It is not cool.’ Communities Secretary Angela Rayner revealed that she still vapes despite trying to quit because her nicotine addiction has led her to a ‘lifetime of purgatory’ Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner pictured vaping while in a kayak On Tuesday Ms Rayner and Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that vape shops will have to apply for planning permission while the definition will be tightened to prevent them getting around the rules by claiming to be convenience stores. Under the Government's plan, it will also become easier for councils to refuse permission for new betting shops to open when there are concerns locally. Ministers will revoke the 'aim to permit' rule introduced when Sir Tony Blair's government – in which Mr Burnham served – liberalised gambling. So-called adult gaming centres, which offer slot machines up to 24 hours a day, will require planning permission. And the maximum length of closure orders for rogue shops linked to organised crime – such as barbers – will double from six to 12 months. The move, first announced under Sir Keir Starmer, will give police and local authorities more time to investigate. However the plans were quickly branded a 'lot of b******* about nothing' by a former boss of Marks & Spencer. Lord Stuart Rose, a Tory peer, said the move would do nothing to revive town centres without the Government also reforming business rates in an effort to cut firms' costs. 'Forgive my French, but it's a lot of b******* about nothing,' he told BBC Newsnight. 'Getting rid of vape shops won't save the high street.' He added: 'If the vape shops are illegal they should be shut down full stop. Ditto betting shops, although neither activity is illegal. 'By all means give local councils teeth, but none of this will revive high streets unless rates are reformed and cost to employ reduced.’ Speaking on a visit to Derbyshire on Tuesday, Mr Burnham said: 'There's a real concern across the country - I felt it in the Makerfield by-election - about high streets that have been hollowed out, particularly in former industrial areas, that have just been in decline for a long time. 'I want to give local communities the power to turn things around. And that means clamping down on some of the businesses that cause harm in communities and then supporting those that bring life back to our high street.’