LAST UPDATE | 11 Jun

OPPONENTS OF KEIR Starmer’s UK government have claimed it is “falling apart” after the UK prime minister lost the fourth cabinet minister of is premiership.  

British Defence Secretary John Healey sensationally quit today, accusing beleaguered Starmer and the finance ministry of failing to commit enough money to protect the country.

In a letter to Starmer, he said the prime minister had 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”.

Healey’s shock resignation deals a fresh blow to Starmer a week before the Makerfield byelection where would-be leadership rival Andy Burnham is expected to win a seat in parliament, making him eligible to challenge for the Labour leadership. 

Burnham has said that he would participate in any Labour leadership race, although none has yet been triggered.

Armed Forces Minister Al Carns’s resignation followed shortly after Healy’s.

Carns said in a letter to Starmer that the UK’s defence investment plan “is not built for what we face” and that his background as a former Royal Marines officer means he “cannot in good conscience stand at the dispatch box and defend a level of investment I know to be inadequate to the task”.

He also flagged “serious problems” in the Northern Ireland Legacy Bill, which he said is “unfit for purpose”.

Wes Streeting quit as health secretary last month following disastrous local and regional election results for Labour and has also said he would run in any future contest.

Healey, 66, has been previously talked about as another potential contender, but there was no immediate suggestion that his resignation is linked to the leadership speculation.

The defence investment plan was originally expected in late 2025 but its release has repeatedly been pushed back — to the frustration of industry and others.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Healey’s resignation showed Starmer’s premiership was “falling apart”, adding the prime minister had “no plan whatsoever”.

She said: “I don’t see how he can stay in this job. He can’t run the country. He is paralysed because his backbenchers only want to spend money on welfare.”

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said Healey’s departure should act as “a wake-up call” for Starmer and potential leadership challenger Andy Burnham, urging them to “get serious about funding our armed forces properly”.

Defence spending

While the UK government has committed to spending 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035, Healey said a spending plan he was presented with on Monday moved too slowly, with defence spending rising to just under 2.7% in 2030 after hitting 2.6% next year.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth (left) with John Healey in Washington DC last year Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Labour MP and chairman of the country’s Defence Committee Tan Dhesi paid tribute to Healey as a “serious, committed and respected defence secretary” and said his resignation was “a grave moment” and a warning the government should treat with “utmost seriousness”.

Healey’s letter brought praise from Conservative MPs, with former soldiers Tom Tugendhat and Ben Obese-Jecty describing it as “principled”.

Tugendhat, a former defence minister, said the letter “states clearly this administration has failed”.

He added: “I’ve criticised every party for the state we’re in but the truth is now clear: the complacent confidence in peace is over. We must rearm.”

- With reporting by AFP