Healey Quits As Defence Secretary Over Funding Row
John Healey has resigned as Defence Secretary in protest at the government’s long-delayed Defence Investment Plan, warning Sir Keir Starmer that the funding settlement would leave the Armed Forces less ready to fight and put personnel “at increased risk” at a moment of heightened threat from Russia.
In a resignation letter posted on social media, which he said he “never expected to write,” Healey told the Prime Minister that a 3 per cent of GDP defence spending headmark by 2030 was what Britain “must set,” and that the commitment would have “strong cross-party support” as other European allies step up their own spending. He acknowledged the financial pressures facing other departments and thanked colleagues who had supported reallocating funding towards defence.
However, Healey said the Defence Investment Plan financial settlement — first given to him in full only on Monday afternoon this week — “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time.” He wrote that the additional support was “backloaded” at precisely the moment when the pressure of operations and the need to speed up readiness to fight was greatest, rising to just 2.68 per cent of GDP in 2030 — when, he noted, “we will reach 2.6 per cent next year with the investment we are already making.”
Healey referenced last week’s intelligence assessment warning that Russia could be capable of an attack on NATO “as soon as 2030,” and pointed to his own remarks at the Munich Security Conference in February, where he had argued forcefully for the scale of investment defence now requires. “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, and could make the country less safe,” he wrote.
He concluded: “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 as your Defence Secretary. I wish you all continuing strength in the exceptional challenges you face as Prime Minister. As always, our Labour Government will continue to have my fullest support.”
Healey, who has served as Defence Secretary since July 2024 and was widely regarded as one of Starmer’s most loyal cabinet allies, had been at the centre of growing pressure over the unpublished Defence Investment Plan in recent days. According to GB News, the Ministry of Defence had been seeking an additional £28 billion to meet its commitments, and Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle had criticised the government over rumours surrounding the plan’s publication timeline. Speaking earlier this week alongside Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper at the AUKMIN summit, Healey had insisted: “The Prime Minister knows what defence the nation needs.”
The resignation lands at an extraordinarily difficult moment for Starmer, whose government is already grappling with a wave of ministerial departures and sustained pressure over its direction following recent electoral setbacks. Losing a defence secretary widely seen as one of his most dependable allies — and doing so over a dispute about the adequacy of military funding amid explicit warnings about Russian intentions towards NATO — represents a significant blow to the government’s authority on national security, an area where it has sought to project strength.
