UK Defense Secretary Healey Quits Over Military Underfunding
In a resignation letter addressed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer — one he admitted he "never expected to write" — Healey charged that a long-anticipated defense investment plan had fallen far short of what Britain's armed forces urgently need.
The departure comes as that defense investment plan has yet to materialize, deepening concerns over the UK's military readiness at a time of heightened international instability.
Healey laid out his grievances in stark terms, writing: "This era for defense required further investment through the defense 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 defense," he noted.
"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. "The extra support is backloaded when the pressure of operations and imperative to speed up readiness to fight is in the first two years and it rises to just 2.68% of GDP in 2030, when we will reach 2.6% next year with the investment we are already making."
His remarks point to a fundamental disagreement over both the scale and the timing of proposed defense expenditure — with Healey arguing that front-loaded investment is critical in the immediate term, not years down the line.
The resignation shines a harsh spotlight on longstanding alarm over Britain's defense posture. A House of Commons Defense Select Committee report published last year warned bluntly that the UK has "no plan for defending the homeland" and is failing to prepare adequately for rising global threats. Though the UK retains its standing as a leading European military power, the committee cautioned that its capacity to sustain that position is "under pressure."
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