11 June 2026 , 18:41
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A bomb has gone off under Keir Starmer’s leadership.
John Healey’s resignation letter is devastating, lobbing a grenade at the Prime Minister by claiming he is putting the safety of the armed forces and the nation in jeopardy. Even after last month’s eruption of resignations and chaos, this is a body blow that Mr Starmer will feel personally.
The timing is excruciating for the embattled PM, only days before a crucial G7 summit where defence and security will be top of the agenda. His standing with Donald Trump and other world leaders will be damaged by Healey’s blistering criticism over his attitude to the UK’s defence.
And on the home front, voters will head to the polls in Makerfield in a week’s time. Accusations that the Government is failing to keep Britain safe at a time of spiraling conflict will be seized on by Labour’s rivals and are likely to have cut through with voters.
If Labour wins the by-election, the PM faces the prospect of his arch rival Andy Burnham returning to Westminster at a moment of great weakness.
Healey knows all of this, which makes his decision to go all the more stark. He is a loyal and pragmatic politician, who is well respected in Westminster. He would not have walked away unless he felt he had no choice.
His camp are clear that he has no designs on the leadership but he could not accept a defence investment plan (DIP) that left the armed forces hollowed out. This rings true to me. Healey and Starmer are friendly, and I have observed the warmth between them many times.
On a recent trip aboard a Vanguard class nuclear submarine in April, I sat with them as they joked with submariners returning home from a record deployment at sea. They share a deep respect for the armed forces - and I have never seen Starmer more alive or at ease than when he’s spending time with the military.
An uneasy peace had taken hold in Westminster while Mr Burnham slogs it out on the campaign trail, allowing Mr Starmer a vital window to regroup after the turmoil that followed the local elections. The defence investment plan was meant to be at the heart of that.
But that peace has been shattered as Healey’s resignation blindsided senior figures in Downing Street, and left the PM scrambling to appoint a new Defence Secretary.
The job now looks like a poisoned chalice after Healey’s scathing takedown of No10 and the Treasury for failing to properly fund the defence of the realm.
The defence investment plan is in tatters and relations between departments have been badly damaged by a long stand-off, with some ministers angered by proposed cuts to their capital budgets to fund defence. It’s an impossible situation for Rachel Reeves to make the sums add up - trading off between defence and other areas, like transport and energy infrastructure.
Allies of the PM had started to brief in recent days that he would fight a leadership contest. But the loss of one of his most loyal ministers is another blow to his hopes of steadying the ship.
Technology & Business Editor