John Healey’s complaint is that Starmer sat on this problem for months before making a derisory offer
John Healey’s resignation as defence secretary on Thursday was a long time brewing, though in the end the denouement was swift. It leaves an already weak Keir Starmer without a defence strategy less than a month before a Nato summit and an unresolved row about spending as Donald Trump threatens to restart the bombing of Iran.
On Monday, No 10 finally told Healey how much more money it was prepared to give the Ministry of Defence to fund major projects as part of the defence investment plan (Dip).
During Wednesday’s prime minister’s questions, the defence secretary was standing at the other end of the Commons, away from other cabinet members on the government frontbench. His expression gave nothing away as Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch blamed one another for spending too much on welfare and not enough on defence. In hindsight, he was possibly thinking “to hell with both of them”. Most defence secretaries go native sooner or later, imagining themselves to be embedded officers serving on the frontline. Tory Ben Wallace appeared to hate most of his cabinet colleagues by the time he resigned in 2023.
Less than 24 hours after PMQs, Healey had also resigned, his departure being all the more powerful for being so unexpected. This exit seemed to come out of a clear blue sky. There had been no briefings to the media in the preceding days. No threats to stand down if his demands were not met. All the arguments had taken place behind closed doors. A determination to do the right thing throughout.
Former defence secretary accuses PM of putting UK’s security at risk at a time of growing international threats
Keir Starmer’s premiership has been pushed to the brink of collapse after the shock resignationof John Healey as defence secretary undermined his security credentials and risked shredding his remaining political authority.
In a blistering resignation letter, Healey accused Starmer and his chancellor, Rachel Reeves, of putting the country’s security at risk, saying the long-awaited defence investment plan (Dip) fell well short of what was required.
Die zentrale Erzählung des Westens ist es, dass Russland aggressiv sei und die NATO angreifen wolle, während die NATO angeblich ein friedliebendes, reines defensives Bündnis sei. In Russland sieht man das anders und warnt vor der Aggressivität der NATO-Staaten, für die es viele Beispiele von Jugoslawien bis Libyen gibt. Was Starmer gesagt hat Am 5. […]
John Healey has resigned as defence secretary over Sir Keir Starmer’s defence investment plan, accusing the Prime Minister of failing to "meet the moment" over his long-delayed proposals to boost military spending.
Can anyone or anything stop Andy Burnham becoming PM now, asks Mark Littlewood in his latest Political Betting column as he contemplates breaking his usual rule and taking the 2/5 odds-on bet.
Government confirms Jarvis’s move from role as security minister to replace John Healey
Ryan Henderson, assistant chief constable for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, is about to hold a press conference about last night’s rioting.
Andy Burnham is facing criticism after saying that he thinks the Waspi women should be entitled to “some” compensation.
I’ll stick by the Waspi women because they deserve some recompense for the unfairness.
One government figure decried Burnham’s intervention as “pathetic”, adding: “He can’t say no to anyone.”
An ally of Sir Keir Starmer likened Burnham’s economic agenda to that of hard-left former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and argued that the mayor’s intervention would harm his chances of manoeuvring the prime minister out of Downing Street.
Andy Burnham’s continued support for Waspi women is both welcome and hugely refreshing. While some politicians have broken their promises, it takes real courage to speak out and say what millions of people across the country and hundreds of MPs from all parties already know - that 1950s-born women deserve justice.
Andy has always recognised the unfair way in which state pension equalisation was introduced.
As mayor of Greater Manchester, he supported Waspi women in the city-region with early access to concessionary travel, providing some recompense to them within affordability limits.
Keir Starmer’s closest aides are “war-gaming” how to win a leadership contest ahead of Andy Burnham’s much-anticipated return to Westminster if he wins the Makerfield byelection, the Guardian understands.
Downing Street sources said the prime minister had taken the last fortnight to think seriously about his future but was now “hellbent” on fighting any contest. His team is working through various scenarios, including sacking ministers who publicly support Burnham.
Political and religious leaders in Northern Ireland saw early Wednesday morning — with the embers of a long night of violence in Belfast and other parts of the region still smoldering — that their calls for calm had fallen on deaf ears. Cars, buses, phone booths, and trash cans set ablaze. Homes where immigrants — or simply people from ethnic minorities — were believed to live, completely engulfed in flames after violent groups targeted them as places that needed to be “liberated.”
The largest FIFA World Cup in history kicks off on Thursday, June 11, at the Estadio Azteca. The opening match between Mexico and South Africa will be the starting gun for a tournament also hosted by Canada and largely staged in the United States, where 78 of the 104 matches will be played, including the final on July 19. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said last May at the United Nations headquarters in New York, an organization founded in 1945 to prevent armed conflict, that “the eyes of the world will be focused on North America.” “We spend so much time in discussing what divides us, but actually we realize that when we put people together, what happens is that there are many more things that unite us than the things that divide us,” he added. The World Cup, however, will be co-hosted in a country that just over 100 days ago launched a war against Iran, alongside Israel, without any United Nations endorsement, that has an open diplomatic dispute with another co-host, Mexico, and whose anti-immigration policies — policies that frighten many fans — on Monday denied entry to Somali referee Omar Artan, one of the 52 match officials assigned to the tournament.
Starmer wants to ban children from social media. Jack Watson, 17, argues the Government is making a serious mistake – in his experience, the benefits of social media outweigh the costs.
Hadi Alodid refused legal representation and made no reply to charges which were put put to him through an Arabic interpreter as he appeared in court charged with attempted murder following the Belfast knife attack, the Press Association reports.
The 30-year-old, with an address at Duncairn Avenue in Belfast, appeared before the city’s magistrates’ court on Wednesday morning.
He is charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie on Monday, with threatening to kill an NHS radiographer on the same day and with the possession of a knife.
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