Healey resigns over defence funding as Burnham's by-election gambit threatens Starmer's grip

Resignations shake Starmer's government

On Thursday, Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns stepped down in protest over the government's Defence Investment Plan. Healey's resignation letter said the £13.5 billion plan "falls well short of what is required" and that additional funding would not arrive until after 2030, despite the "imperative to speed up readiness to fight is in the first two years." Carns warned that "Britain is still purchasing on capability suitable for the last war, while our adversaries arm for the next one." The pair's departures are the latest blow to Keir Starmer, who has already seen multiple cabinet resignations since Labour came to power.

Burnham's Makerfield gambit

With the Makerfield parliamentary by-election set for June 19, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is widely expected to win the seat and immediately challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership. Internal party polling, according to The Independent, suggests Burnham "will win easily and actually embarrass Reform UK." Burnham has been assembling a shadow Downing Street team and sounding out potential cabinet members, with Louise Haigh and deputy leader Lucy Powell among those expected to take senior roles. He has also vowed to end the suspension of rebel MP Karl Turner. One Labour source told the Irish Independent that the "biggest reason people are voting for Andy is to get rid of Starmer."

The funding dispute

At the heart of the resignations is the Defence Investment Plan, which sets out how the UK will meet its military commitments. Starmer has already increased defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, three years earlier than planned, and says he is moving "as quickly as possible." But his critics argue the plan lacks urgency. Healey, a party loyalist who served under five Labour leaders, wrote that the prime minister was "unwilling to commit the resources" needed and that the Treasury was blocking further increases. Starmer, meanwhile, insists that any prime minister would face the same fiscal constraints. "Government is about trade-offs," he told the BBC.

Starmer fights back

In a BBC interview on Friday, Starmer declared he would contest any leadership race, saying: "That's not about personal vanity, it's not about stubbornness. It's out of a very deep sense of duty." He acknowledged that his government had "a very bad set of elections" but insisted he must "turn things around." The prime minister challenged Burnham and other potential rivals to detail exactly which taxes they would raise or which spending they would cut to fund faster defence increases. "Easy answers are by their nature easy," he said.

What Burnham proposes

Burnham has begun outlining his alternative. In a Times interview, he said he would fund higher defence spending by reducing the welfare bill, insisting he was "not at all squeamish" about tackling welfare costs while also pledging to move people into work. He also backed a 10-year approach to defence and security, as well as a 10-year public investment and procurement plan. The Independent's editorial board has suggested additional options, including slowing the growth of disability benefits, adjusting the state pension triple lock, or introducing a "defence levy" on income tax.

Next steps

Further ministerial resignations are expected after the by-election, echoing the wave of departures that forced Boris Johnson from office. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the resignations proof that Starmer's premiership was "falling apart," while Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said they should be a "wake-up call" for all parties to get "serious about funding our armed forces properly." The Makerfield result next Friday will determine whether Burnham gains the parliamentary perch he needs to launch a formal leadership challenge.