UK defence secretary resigns over military spending, in blow to Starmer

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.