John Healey resigns as UK defence secretary over funding shortfalls

British Secretary of Defence John Healey resigned from office on Thursday, citing shortcomings in the government’s defence spending plans.

In a letter addressed to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Healey criticised funding for the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP) and said he had “no other option” but to resign.

The DIP, originally scheduled for publication in Autumn 2025, is due to set out the UK’s defence spending for the next decade, but it has faced repeated delays despite warnings that the nation’s armed forces face a major funding gap.

“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,” Healey wrote in his resignation letter.

“You know what defence needs,” he continued. “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”.

Healey added that the Labour government would continue to have his support and that he was proud of the work he had done in the role.

Healey’s surprise decision and his work as defence secretary have been met with praise from many across Westminster.

Al Carns, the UK minister of state for the armed forces and Labour MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, said Healey had given his country “serious service in a serious time”.

“I worked alongside him closely. I saw the hours, the care, and the seriousness he brought to every brief, including the hardest ones,” he wrote on X, adding that the Ministry of Defence was facing problems that “do not lend themselves to easy answers”.

Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick also weighed in, commending Healey for his decision and saying Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves should step down as well.

“This Government has all the money in the world for Ed Milliband’s mad plans, foreign aid, and benefits for foreigners. But nothing for our armed forces. Good on John Healey. Shame on them,” he said.

In a post on social media, Tory MP and former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly added that he had “always respected” Healey and that he “clearly takes defence of the realm and defence of our interests more seriously than either Keir Starmer or Rachel Reeves”.

Healey’s resignation comes amid mounting pressure on Starmer and is the latest in a string of ministerial departures since former Health Secretary Wes Streeting left his role in May.