UK defence secretary John Healey has resigned, saying the government has been “unwilling” to commit sufficient resources to protecting the country.
In a dramatic sign of Keir Starmer’s authority draining away, Healey claimed the prime minister had been “unable” to find the money needed to fill a hole in the country’s defence budget.
In his resignation letter, posted on X on Thursday, Healey wrote: “This new era for defence required further investment through the Defence Investment Plan.”
His resignation delivers a serious blow to Starmer, who is expected to face a leadership challenge in the coming days if Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester mayor, wins the Makerfield byelection next Thursday.
Starmer has established a strong reputation on foreign affairs and defence, but Healey’s assertion that he does not have the authority to insist on an increase in military spending is damning.
Healey’s departure also lays bare growing divisions in the Labour Party over defence investment, as Starmer tries to finalise the Defence Investment Plan, a multiyear blueprint for spending on the armed forces.
Healey had battled with chancellor Rachel Reeves, who, according to Labour officials, vigorously opposed the extra spending.
Healey made clear on Thursday his view that the government must commit to “a headmark date for 3 per cent of GDP on defence in 2030”.
Starmer’s plan would take it to only 2.68 per cent, Healey said, adding that it “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time”.
Downing Street insisted that Starmer was overseeing “the largest sustained boost to defence spending since the cold war” and that he had “imposed cuts on other government departments to fund billions more”.
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In a sign that Starmer intends to press ahead with the settlement rejected by Healey, a government official said: “The Defence Investment Plan will deliver the capability our armed forces need.”
Some Labour officials argue that Reeves was unwilling to push through cuts to departmental budgets in what could be the dying days of Starmer’s government.
They said that Starmer offered £13.5 billion, far short of the £18 billion demanded by Healey, with suggestions that only £10 billion of it was “new” money from the treasury.
One said: “Rachel was making it clear to everyone that she didn’t want to do this and was putting all the blame for the proposed cuts on to Number 10.”
Some Labour officials see Reeves as trying to position herself for a senior role in a Burnham administration; her allies insist she could continue as chancellor to reassure the markets.
An ally of Reeves said: “It’s the chancellor’s job to keep control of the public finances; if money for additional spending needs to be found, that needs the backing of the PM and cabinet.”
Ed Miliband, energy secretary, also fiercely opposed cuts to funding for green projects in his department, although his allies said he had not threatened to resign after Starmer insisted on them last week.
The defence spending plan was initially due to be published last autumn.
One defence figure who had earlier predicted that Healey would end up “toast” from the struggle said: “The fact is John Healey and [chief of the defence staff] Richard Knighton are the co-architects of this complete debacle.”
In his resignation letter, Healey said he recognised the “strain” that defence funding needs were placing on fellow cabinet ministers in other departments.
Starmer had in the past week floated cutting capital spending to fund a boost to the military’s budget, with the energy and transport departments in line for the largest cuts.
Healey said the need for defence spending had “increased still further” since January, citing Starmer’s bid for the UK to adopt leading roles in post-peace-deal international forces in both Ukraine and the Strait of Hormuz, Britain’s role in a new Nato mission in the Arctic and increased malign Russian activity towards the UK.
Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank, noted that Healey said he had only received the confirmation of the proposed budget increase on Monday: “That says this process has been far more chaotic than even we suspected.”
Kevin Craven, chief executive of aerospace and defence trade association ADS, said Healey’s resignation was “truly a damning reflection on the current state of affairs”.
“The consequences for the UK, and indeed our allies, of getting our Defence Investment Plan wrong – as now seems certain – are of a magnitude far beyond our worst fears,” he added. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
