Keir Starmer’s grip on his young government was shaken again on Wednesday night as the armed forces minister quit in a fresh escalation of a bitter row over how quickly and how far the UK should boost defence spending.
Al Carns resigned as a defence minister this evening, writing to the Prime Minister that he could not stand behind “a level of investment I know to be inadequate to the task”.
His departure followed the earlier resignation of John Healey, who stepped down as defence secretary after arguing that Mr Starmer had been “unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling”, to provide sufficient backing for the defence investment plan (Dip).
Dan Jarvis, a former Parachute Regiment officer, was named as Mr Healey’s successor late tonight.
The Dip — a long-term blueprint intended to increase military investment over a sustained period — was first urged by the strategic defence review almost exactly a year ago. It has since been repeatedly delayed, with arguments over funding holding up progress.
In his resignation letter, Mr Carns, a former Royal Marines commando, said: “I have sat in the rooms, seen the assessments, and spoken to the commanders who will be asked to do more with less, and I cannot in good conscience stand at the dispatch box and defend a level of investment I know to be inadequate to the task.
“A serious country funds its defence to meet the threat it actually faces, not the threat it wishes it faced.”
The decision came despite Mr Carns suggesting only an hour earlier that he was prepared to wait until the Dip was finalised before deciding whether to remain in government.
However, he also told Sky News he could leave if the final version of the plan does not do “right by the armed forces”.
After announcing his own departure, Mr Healey is understood to have urged other defence ministers to stay in place.
Not everyone complied. Pamela Nash, Mr Healey’s parliamentary private secretary, also resigned, aligning herself with his stance.
In her resignation letter to Mr Starmer, Ms Nash said the “delays and difficulties” surrounding the Dip had become “the latest issue that is damaging to the trust of the public in us”.
In his written response to Mr Healey’s resignation, the Prime Minister said he agreed the Government must “go further” in raising defence funding.
Yet he insisted the Dip “will provide the resources our military needs to keep us safe and the clarity the British defence industry needs to plan”.
Mr Starmer said the plan is backed by “the necessary investment”, and that the spending increases underpinning it would be “sustainable and fair”.
He also warned the extra money would have consequences across Whitehall, saying higher defence spending “will mean significant reallocations of funding from across Government departments”.
Closing his letter, Mr Starmer wrote: “Taking these decisions is never easy. I am determined to rebuild our country after years of being buffeted by crises. I am sorry that you will not be part of that work going forward.”
The Government has pledged to lift defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035. But Mr Healey said the plan put to him on Monday did not move fast enough, with spending rising to 2.68% in 2030 after reaching 2.6% next year.
He warned that without a Dip that “meets the moment” he would be “forced to make decisions that would reduce the readiness of our forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make our country less safe”.
Sources said the Treasury offer failed to set a date for hitting 3% spending and had attempted to push the Ministry of Defence (MoD) into planning to reach that level only in 2034/35.
Mr Healey becomes the fourth Cabinet minister to leave Mr Starmer’s government since it came to power, and the second to resign over policy differences after Wes Streeting quit as health secretary last month following the fallout from Labour’s local election losses.
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