John Healey has resigned as defence secretary, a move that Downing Street had hoped to avoid but which has been brewing for months. In a letter posted to social media, Healey cited Prime Minister Keir Starmer's unwillingness or inability to overrule the Treasury and secure a sufficiently rapid increase in defence spending, something he said would make the UK less safe.
A Pragmatic Politician
Despite his managerial veneer and quiet approach, Healey is a highly political operator who has spent nearly 30 years in parliament and held frontbench jobs under every Labour leader from Tony Blair onwards. He has been pragmatic enough to get on with the jobs given to him under leaders of various shades, from being made a junior education minister under Blair to serving as shadow health secretary for Ed Miliband and even holding the housing brief under Jeremy Corbyn.
Key Achievements
Healey's tenure was not just about more resources but also about improving conditions for military personnel. He led a concerted push on the often-dilapidated state of forces housing, which resulted last year in a £9bn plan to overhaul it. This was formalised in the Armed Forces Act, passed this year, which also provided greater protections for military personnel who face incidents such as sexual assault or domestic abuse.
Background
Born and brought up in Yorkshire, Healey worked as a journalist, for disability charities, and as campaigns director for the TUC before entering parliament in the 1997 Labour landslide. He has represented the same Yorkshire seat ever since, although boundary adjustments have changed it from Wentworth to Wentworth and Dearne, and now Rawmarsh and Conisbrough.
Political Calculations
Healey knew what he wanted to achieve – not just the promised 3.5% of GDP spent on defence by 2035, but at least 3% by 2030 – and he resigned rather than being forced to plan for the UK's defence with less. While broadly on the right of Labour, Healey has used his time in the Starmer government to cultivate an image of appearing almost above factionalism, but his background is about as modern Labour as you could get.
If Starmer had come to forget the fundamentally political core of his defence secretary, he had an early warning in May when Healey was one of four senior cabinet ministers to speak to the PM after disastrous local election results about the possibility of Starmer making way for someone else. After Healey's resignation, this idea seems more likely than ever. Does Healey want to replace him? Seemingly not. He is 66, and allies say No 10 does not feature in his ambitions. But will he get a senior role in another government? Most likely. Expect to see Healey back on the morning airwaves at some point, once again radiating reassurance.
