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British Defence Secretary John Healey resigned on Thursday, delivering a sharp rebuke to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Treasury over what he described as insufficient funding to protect the nation.
Healey’s departure, announced via a resignation letter posted on his X account, marks a dramatic escalation in tensions within Starmer’s government at a critical political juncture, just a week before a high-stakes by-election.
In his letter, Healey warned that the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP), still unpublished, risked making Britain “less safe.” He accused Starmer and the finance ministry of failing to provide the resources necessary to safeguard the country amid “rising threats.”
“After explaining to you that I would not be able to accept a DIP settlement that does not give our Forces the resources they need, I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation,” he wrote.
The resignation follows months of delays over the DIP, which Starmer has pledged to publish ahead of the NATO summit in Turkey on July 7.
Healey said he only received full details of the plan on Monday, noting that it would see defence spending rise to just 2.68 per cent of GDP by 2030, falling short of the promised three per cent target.
“Without a DIP that meets the moment in this way, I am being forced to make decisions that would reduce the readiness of our forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations,” he added.
Labour MP Tan Dhesi, chair of the parliamentary defence committee, described Healey’s exit as “a grave moment” and urged the government to take his warning “with the utmost seriousness.”
Analysts suggest the resignation compounds Starmer’s political challenges, coming after the recent departure of Health Secretary Wes Streeting and ahead of the Makerfield by-election.
Patrick Diamond, politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, said it “underlines that Starmer has become a lame duck prime minister who cannot get decisions through his own government.”
Despite Healey’s criticism, a government source defended Starmer’s proposals, insisting they “will deliver the capability our armed forces need” and asserting that the prime minister has nonetheless “made Britain safer.”
