UK defence secretary resigns over military spending, in blow to Starmer
Defence Secretary John Healey quit on June 11, publishing a resignation letter that accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Treasury of failing to fund the armed forces adequately at a dangerous moment. The government's side is the fiscal case: defence spending is already rising at a record pace, but must be balanced against strained public finances, weak growth forecasts and competing departmental demands.
The summary above is a neutral framing. Below, each side reports the same story in its own words — judge for yourself.
Healey says he quit with 'great reluctance' because the latest Defence Investment Plan for spending through 2035 'falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time.' He argues the increases planned by 2030 are negligible compared with what is already guaranteed by 2027, and that the Treasury's unwillingness to commit more is forcing decisions that reduce the readiness of UK forces and could make the country less safe as NATO pushes members toward 3.5% of GDP by 2035.
On the government's side, ministries had been locked in months of talks over how fast to raise defence spending, with the clash pitting NATO targets against strained public finances and anaemic growth. The government's position is that UK defence spending is already rising rapidly — a point Healey himself conceded, saying he was 'proud' of existing increases — and that the Defence Investment Plan reflects what the Treasury judges affordable. The same limited budget is also being fought over by other departments, with the energy secretary reportedly resisting cuts to net-zero programmes on the grounds that energy security is itself part of national security.
