John Healey dramatically quit today as Labour’s defence shambles turned into a nightmare.
The Defence Secretary announced he was leaving Cabinet with a brutal parting shot at Keir Starmer after months of bitter wrangling over funding.
Mr Healey said he could not accept the settlement in the Defence Investment plan because it ‘falls well short of what is required for… the country at this dangerous time’.
He suggested the package amounts to increasing spending from 2.6 per cent of GDP next year to just 2.68 per cent in 2030, despite the ‘imperative to speed up readiness to fight’.
Swiping at the PM and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Mr Healey said: ‘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.’
The seismic news further loosens Sir Keir’s tenuous grip on control of the Government, as rivals circle to deliver a killer blow.
A key ally of Andy Burnham immediately praised his ‘principled’ stance.
No10 had hoped the blueprint to fill a black hole in budgets could finally be unveiled this morning, ahead of the PM meeting fellow leaders at an international summit next week.
However, that prospect was humiliatingly dashed as the Treasury and Cabinet ministers play hardball over how to find the funding.
The PM’s inability to get the measures over the line highlights his waning authority, with Mr Burnham widely expected to mount a challenge if he wins the Makerfield by-election next week.
John Healey dramatically quit today as Labour’s defence shambles turned into a nightmare
Mr Healey said he could not accept the settlement in the Defence Investment plan because it did not give the military the ‘resources they need’
Keir Starmer is desperately trying to finalise the Defence Investment Plan, which has been the subject of months of bitter wrangling
It is understood that Ed Miliband has been resisting demands for savings of at least 1 per cent within his Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
As well as a multi-billion pound shortfall in existing budgets, there are disagreements over how and when targets for increasing spending can be reached.
It is understood that Ed Miliband has been resisting demands for savings of at least 1 per cent within his Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
That could amount to more than £600million from the capital budget over the five-year spending period – potentially affecting support for heat pumps and carbon capture.
In his resignation letter, Mr Healey said: ‘This new era for defence required further investment through the Defence Investment Plan. 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.
‘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.’
He added: ‘As I’ve outlined to you, there are credible ways of meeting the mid-term funding challenges, working multi-nationally and as other European nations are doing, to allow us to protect our ability to deliver the missions of our Labour Government.
‘However, your DIP financial settlement – which I was first given in full on Monday afternoon this week – falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time.’
Mr Healey went on: ‘Without a DIP that meets the moment in this way, I am 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.
‘After explaining to you that I would not be able to accept a DIP settlement that does not give our Forces the resources they need, I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation as your Defence Secretary.’
The letter brought praise from Conservative MPs, with former soldiers Tom Tugendhat and Ben Obese-Jecty describing it as ‘principled’.
Mr Tugendhat, a former defence minister, said the letter ‘states clearly this administration has failed’.
He added: ‘I’ve criticised every party for the state we’re in but the truth is now clear: the complacent confidence in peace is over. We must rearm.’
Labour former minister Jim McMahon, a close ally of Mr Burnham, responded to Mr Healey on X: ‘You were an outstanding Defence Secretary John, and principled from beginning to end.’
Sir Keir’s allies have been increasingly suspicious of Mr Miliband, amid rumours of a tie-up with Mr Burnham. The Cabinet minister is said to have told the PM previously that he should set a timetable for his departure.
During bad-tempered PMQs clashes yesterday, Sir Keir repeatedly refused to rule out more tax rises to fund a military boost.
And he would only commit to releasing the proposals before the Nato summit on July 7.
Ministers have admitted the plan will not come tomorrow, after Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said it would be a ‘kick in the face’ to do so when MPs are not sitting.
Sir Keir’s allies have been increasingly suspicious of Mr Miliband, amid rumours of a tie-up with Andy Burnham (pictured in Makerfield)
It is unclear whether publication can happen next week, as the PM has engagements outside of the UK.
The Government’s financial room for manoeuvre is limited after a revolt last year torpedoed efforts to curb spiralling sickness benefits.
It emerged last week that Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden privately complained that Labour MPs only cared about who they can ‘tax in order to pay benefits to others’.
