Second resignation deepens UK government crisis over defence spending

Britain’s armed forces minister, Al Carns, has resigned from the government, following Defence Secretary John Healey in stepping down amid a dispute with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over military funding, as per the BBC report.

Carns submitted his resignation on Thursday evening, June 11, telling the prime minister that the government’s defence investment plan (DIP) was “neither transformative enough nor sufficiently funded”.

His departure came shortly after Healey resigned in a sharply worded letter, warning that the level of military spending proposed by Starmer “falls well short” of what is required to ensure the country’s security.

Dan Jarvis, the security minister and a former British Army officer, has been appointed to replace Healey as defence secretary.

Starmer has not yet publicly responded to Carns’ resignation. In his reply to Healey, however, the prime minister said he was “proud of our record on funding”, adding that the defence investment plan “will provide the resources our military needs to keep us safe”.

Only around an hour before stepping down, Carns had indicated he was prepared to wait until the DIP was finalised before reconsidering his position. However, following notably candid interviews with Sky News and the BBC, he published his resignation letter on X, stating he could not defend “a level of investment I know to be inadequate to the task”.

The political fallout extended beyond the ministerial ranks. Labour MP Pamela Nash resigned as Healey’s parliamentary assistant at the Ministry of Defence, citing concerns over delays in securing funding for the plan.

In her letter to the prime minister, Nash wrote that “delays and difficulties with securing the necessary funding to progress the defence investment plan has been the latest issue that is damaging to the trust of the public in us”.

According to the BBC, Healey had urged other defence ministers to remain in their posts.

The resignations have left the government under significant pressure and have further weakened Starmer’s authority, which had already been under scrutiny amid questions over his long-term political future.

Healey’s departure is seen as a particularly severe setback for the prime minister, given his status as one of Starmer’s most loyal cabinet allies.

Opposition figures have also weighed in. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described Healey’s resignation as “the honourable thing” and said it was “shocking” that his letter suggested current defence spending levels could leave British troops at risk.

The developments come just a week before a key by-election, in which Labour candidate Andy Burnham is seeking to return to Westminster, potentially positioning himself to challenge Starmer for the party leadership.

Healey is the second cabinet minister to resign in recent weeks, following the departure of former health secretary Wes Streeting, who said he had “lost confidence” in the prime minister’s leadership.

By Tamilla Hasanova