British Defense Minister John Healey resigns to oppose the next defense investment plan which he considers insufficient

British Defense Minister John Healey announced his resignation on Thursday June 11, expressing his disagreement with Prime Minister Keir Starmer over a long-term investment plan in defense which is due to be published soon. “You were not able, and [le ministère des Finances] did not want to mobilize the resources that the nation needs to defend the country in this period of increasing threats”he wrote in his resignation letter, published on X.

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 submit my resignation”explains John Healey. 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 partial legislative 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 recently revealed to the general public the effects of years of lack of investment and industrial delays, which result in a Navy almost absent in the region. Keir Starmer 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.