British Defense Minister John Healey announced his resignation on Thursday June 11, expressing his disagreement with Prime Minister Keir Starmer over a defense investment plan which is due to be published soon.
“You have not been able, and the Treasury (Ministry of Finance, Editor’s note) has not wanted to mobilize the resources that the nation needs to defend the country in this period of growing threats,” wrote the minister in his resignation letter addressed to Keir Starmer, published on X.
My letter to the Prime Minister pic.twitter.com/j9z9nmLCb1
— John Healey (@JohnHealey_MP) June 11, 2026
I manage my choices I authorize
The publication of a ten-year investment plan in defense, initially scheduled for the end of 2025, has been postponed several times. “Having explained to you that I could not accept an agreement that would not give our forces the necessary resources, I now have no choice but to tender my resignation,” explains John Healey.
New blow for Keir Starmer
This resignation is a new blow for the Labor Prime Minister, politically weakened for months and threatened by internal protest, one week before a crucial legislative by-election. Keir Starmer’s Labor government has pledged to increase military spending, and is due to unveil its defense investment plan before the NATO summit on July 7-8.
The war in Iran has recently revealed to the general public the effects of years of lack of investment and industrial delays, which result in a virtually absent Navy in the region. Keir Starmer has pledged to increase defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027, then to 3% after 2029, and to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, in line with the target set by NATO.
Questioned at a press conference in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who was not aware of this resignation, acknowledged that increasing military spending was not an easy thing.
“Of course, it is not easy, because in the end there is always a compromise to be made with other expenditures, which are also important, but the primary mission of any government is, ultimately, to ensure the security of the country and ensure that the economy is strong,” he said.
