Analysis: John Healey’s Brutal Resignation Is The Final Nail In Keir Starmer’s Coffin

If there were any lingering doubts that Keir Starmer is in the final throes of his time in No.10, they were extinguished this morning.

John Healey’s devastating resignation as defence secretary, and his central charge that Starmer is failing to keep the country safe, means the end is near for the prime minister.

With opinion polls showing that Andy Burnham is on course to be elected the MP for Makerfield in a week’s time, there is a not-inconsiderable chance that it could all be over before MPs leave Westminster for the summer recess.

Starmer has let it be known that he intends to fight any attempt to unseat him. Healey’s resignation means there is now no chance of that.

There have been far too many ministerial resignations in British politics over the past decade, but none have been as catastrophic for a sitting PM than Healey’s.

Healey, one of the most respected figures at Westminster, calmly and methodically set out how both the prime minister and chancellor Rachel Reeves were failing to come up with the money Britain’s armed forces needs at a time of growing global unrest.

The final straw for the now-former defence secretary came on Monday afternoon, when he was shown the full Defence Investment Plan (DIP), a document which has been delayed for months because of wrangling between No.10, the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury.

It set out how defence spending would increase from 2.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) next year to just 2.68% in 2030 – well short of the 3% Healey said was the minimum requirement.

If he accepted that settlement, Healey said, it would see him “being forced to make decisions that would reduce the readiness of our Forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make the country less safe”.

Nor did his resignation letter spare Reeves from criticism.

“The excellent and extensive cross-government work that completed in January – overseen by you, me and the chancellor – confirmed the scale of the challenge and the rising demands on defence,” he wrote.

“Since then, 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.”

Starmer, like every prime minister before him, has regularly trotted out the line that keeping the country safe is his number one duty.

It is simply impossible for him to repeat that claim when it has been so comprehensively debunked by his own defence secretary.

There are many reasons why Starmer is clearly not cut out for the job of prime minister.

But his failure, with a massive Commons majority behind him, to make and win the case for a huge increase in defence spending is surely the most damning.

It remains to be seen whether Burnham, or whoever else comes next, is able to meet the moment.

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.