John Healey has resigned as defence secretary, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of being “unable” and the Treasury “unwilling” to commit the resources needed to defend the country. In a letter to the prime minister, Healey said the financial settlement for the long-delayed defence investment plan (DIP), which he received on Monday afternoon, “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time”.
Healey, who had served in every Labour leader’s frontbench since Tony Blair, wrote that demands on defence had increased since January because of the conflict in the Middle East and new UK commitments in the Arctic and Ukraine. He warned that extra support in the DIP was “backloaded when the pressure of operations and imperative to speed up readiness to fight is in the first two years”. The plan, he said, would leave defence spending at just 2.68% of GDP in 2030, far below his target of 3% by that year – a level he argued was necessary given Starmer’s own warning that Russia could attack Nato as soon as 2030.
“John Healey resigned as defence secretary, accusing Starmer of failing to fund defence and leaving the country less safe.”
“Without a DIP that meets the moment in this way,” Healey wrote, “I am being forced to make decisions that would reduce the readiness of our forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make the country less safe.”
The resignation, the second cabinet departure in recent weeks after Wes Streeting quit as health secretary having “lost confidence” in Starmer’s leadership, turns a long-running funding row into a full-blown crisis for the prime minister. The Ministry of Defence had reportedly asked for an extra £28bn over four years, while the government was reported to be preparing a £13.5bn increase. The government has committed to spending 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035, but Healey said the plan moved too slowly.
Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, who has not resigned, told Times Radio the DIP was “not fit for purpose” and said Starmer has “got to sort this out”. Tan Dhesi, the Labour MP who chairs the Defence Committee, called the resignation a “grave moment” and said the government “must take that warning with the utmost seriousness”. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, speaking in the Netherlands, denied the prime minister was unable to act, saying: “I think the PM is both able to make changes and strongly committed to the defence of the country.” Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said Healey had demonstrated his “integrity” with his resignation.
Healey, seen as a party stalwart and a “dark horse” contender for the premiership, has asked other defence ministers to stay in post to minimise disruption. The DIP was first expected in the autumn, but repeated delays amid cabinet splits have fuelled unease. With Starmer facing questions over his long-term future after poor local election results, Healey’s departure leaves the prime minister without one of his most respected ministers and the defence blueprint still unresolved.