UK Defence Secretary Resigns Over Spending Disagreement

Britain’s defence secretary says he has resigned over a disagreement with the prime minister about defence spending.

In a letter addressed to Keir Starmer and posted on X on Thursday, John Healey accused the prime minister of failing to commit the resources needed to defend the country.

“You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats,” he wrote.

Britain’s defence and finance ministries have been locked in talks for months over how to meet rising demands to expand military spending, delaying the country’s Defence Investment Plan since last year.

Healey said the financial settlement he received on Monday “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time,” rising only to 2.68 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2030 at a time when he argued a firm 3 percent headmark by that year was essential.

Healey invoked Starmer’s own words against him, saying “there could be an attack by Russia on Nato as soon as 2030”.

He added: “You know what defence needs. You made the argument for this powerfully in your speech at the Munich Security Conference back in February.”

‘Yet another blow’ for Starmer

The resignation comes as Britain juggles an expanding set of military commitments: leading a multinational Strait of Hormuz mission amid the conflict with Iran, heading NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission in the High North, and facing increased Russian activity towards the UK and NATO allies alongside escalating attacks in Ukraine.

Without adequate funding, Healey said: “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 departure lands at a particularly precarious moment for Starmer.

At least 95 Labour MPs had already called on the prime minister to resign or set out a departure timetable by mid-May. Healey is the sixth minister to step down in the past month.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting left his post on May 14. He said it was clear Starmer would not lead Labour into the next general election, criticising his government’s “drift” and lack of “vision”.

Starmer’s government popularity has collapsed just two years after a landslide general election victory. The delay to the Defence Investment Plan has also frustrated Britain’s defence industry, which says it cannot commit to long-term programmes at a time of huge geopolitical volatility.

“This is the latest in a string of high-profile resignations that have beset the Starmer government, and it is yet another blow for the Starmer premiership,” Al Jazeera’s Camille Nedelec, reporting from London, said of Healey’s decision.

“John Healey is a well-respected politician with a long career. He has clout, and he was a real significant figure within the government. His resignation has opened up a new frontier of criticism aimed at Keir Starmer, because up until now the crux of the criticism has been focused around the Peter Mandelson scandal,” she said.

Starmer has faced questions over his judgement amid revelations that Mandelson, who the prime minister appointed as ambassador to the US, had close ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“[The resignation] also raises the question of whether or not John Healey could be preparing his own leadership bid.” Nedelec added.