UK PM Starmer names Dan Jarvis as defence secretary after John Healey's resignation over spending shortfall

Dan Jarvis, a former paratrooper and security specialist, was appointed as the UK's new defence secretary on Thursday evening, succeeding John Healey who had abruptly quit earlier that day. The swift appointment underscores the mounting pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose Labour government is grappling with internal dissent after a string of electoral setbacks.

Healey's shock exit over budget

Healey's resignation came as a surprise. The outgoing minister, who had been in post since Labour took office in 2024, delivered a scathing critique of the government's defence spending plans. He argued that the Treasury under Starmer was unwilling to allocate sufficient resources at a time of growing threats. He pointed out that under current plans, defence expenditure would reach just 2.68 percent of GDP by 2030, far short of what he deemed necessary, especially with the prospect of a Russian attack on NATO members before then.

I will always do what is necessary to ensure our country's security.

Starmer defended his budget, outlining commitments to raise defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027 and to 3 percent by 2034. He described his fiscal plans as sustainable and fair, and expressed regret over the departure of a loyal minister. Nevertheless, Healey's exit dealt another blow to the prime minister, who already faces calls for his resignation after Labour's poor showing in May's local and regional elections, and a potentially damaging by-election next week.

New minister's military and political record

Dan Jarvis, 51, brings a rich mix of security expertise and frontline military service. A graduate of the elite Sandhurst military academy, he was commissioned as an officer in the Parachute Regiment and saw deployments in Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. He later studied international politics and strategic studies at Aberystwyth University in Wales. According to his website, he was the first person since the Second World War to resign his army commission in order to stand for parliament in a by-election.

Jarvis entered the House of Commons in 2011 as the MP for Barnsley Central, and was re-elected in 2024 for the redrawn Barnsley North constituency. Between 2011 and 2015 he held various positions in the Labour whips' office, and from 2017 to 2019 sat on the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy. In 2018 he was elected the inaugural mayor of South Yorkshire. Most recently, he served as a minister of state in both the Home Office and the Cabinet Office.

Now, as defence secretary, Jarvis takes charge at a moment when military funding and strategic readiness are at the centre of one of the most acute crises of Starmer's premiership.

Wider political crisis for Starmer

Healey was widely regarded as a loyal ally of Starmer, making his resignation all the more damaging. The prime minister's authority has been steadily eroding since Labour's heavy defeats in the May local and regional contests. Party insiders have openly called for his removal, and a by-election scheduled for next week threatens to deepen the prime minister's vulnerability. The sudden departure of a senior cabinet figure over defence funding now casts fresh doubt on Starmer's ability to hold his government together.