John Healey Hits Out At Keir Starmer And Rachel Reeves In Resignation Speech

John Healey hit out at both Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves as he delivered his resignation speech in the Commons.

The former defence secretary, who quit the cabinet last week in a funding row with No.10 and the Treasury, said the threats Britain now faces meant a huge cash boost for the armed forces was needed.

His comments came shortly after Sir Richard Knighton, head of the armed forces, told a House of Lords committee that he will be forced to make cuts unless more money is made available by the government.

Healey resigned after rejecting the government’s Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which only earmarked an extra £13.5 billion for defence between now and 2030.

That is less than half the £28 billion that Healey and armed forces chiefs had demanded.

Addressing MPs, Healey said that in time, his resignation “will be seen as necessary in securing the future of our armed forces and of our alliances”.

“This is the age of hard power and rising threat,” he said. “This is not the moment for calibration or incremental change. This means bigger politics, bolder priorities, harder choices.”

That appeared to be a clear swipe at the prime minister, who last month insisted that “incremental change won’t cut it” as he vowed to turn around the government’s fortunes.

Healey went on: “The prime minister knows what the country needs for defence. He spelled out the threat this month when he said ‘it is our intelligence assessment and the assessment of other countries in Nato that there could be an attack by Russia on Nato as soon as 2030’.

“So Britain must set the head mark of spending 3% of GDP [gross domestic product] on defence in 2030 and a clear path to 3.5% in 2035, the commitment all Nato nations made to each other and to their people.”

He said it was “the duty of our political generation now to ready Britain for the uncertainties of the years to come, and the decisions that we make in the months ahead will be judged by those who follow us”.

In a clear attack on the chancellor, Healey said: “By 2030, well over half of Nato members will be spending 3% or more, and when allies are looking for British leadership, we must not fall behind.

“When Nato needs European nations to step up, we must not fall short. Our adversaries don’t follow timetables set by the Treasury.”

Starmer defended his record at the G7 summit, but gave no indication that more money for defence will be forthcoming.

He said: “We increased last year defence spending from 2.3% to 2.6% [of GDP]. That’s the biggest increase since the 1980s, and that means £270 billion will be spent this parliament on defence.

“On top of that (the) Defence Investment Plan which obviously gives us capability for the future. We will put even more money in relation to that. I’ve been really clear that’s required difficult decisions, I have taken the decision to reallocate money from other departments.

“Obviously the new defence secretary is reading in and we’re talking to him about how and what we will spend that money on, in terms of capability, and he’s got his own thoughts now on what the priorities should be, and so that’s the discussion we’re in the middle of at the moment.”

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