Healey Demanded A Firm 3% Of GDP On Defence By 2030 And Received A Settlement Reaching Only 2.68%, Making Him The Sixth Minister To Leave Starmer’s Government In A Single Month, As At Least 95 Labour MPs Had Already Called On The Prime Minister To Resign
According to Al Jazeera, AFP and Reuters, UK Defence Secretary John Healey resigned from Keir Starmer’s government on Thursday June 11, posting a letter directly on X accusing the prime minister of failing to fund national defence at a time of acute geopolitical risk.
“You have 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 wrote. The financial settlement he received Monday would see UK defence spending rise to only 2.68 percent of GDP by 2030.
Healey had argued a firm 3 percent commitment by that date was essential; invoking Starmer’s own Munich Security Conference speech warning that Russia could attack NATO as soon as 2030.
Without adequate funding, Healey warned he was being forced to make decisions that would reduce military readiness and increase risk to personnel currently on operations. Britain is simultaneously leading a multinational Strait of Hormuz mission amid the ongoing Iran conflict, heading NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission, and facing escalating Russian activity toward UK and NATO allies.
Healey is the sixth minister to resign from Starmer’s government in a single month. Health Secretary Wes Streeting departed on May 14. At least 95 Labour MPs had already called on Starmer to resign. Al Jazeera’s Camille Nedelec described the resignation as “yet another blow for the Starmer premiership” and noted Healey’s departure could signal preparation for his own leadership bid.
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