by Mikhail Kolovangin
[REGNUM] The British political class likes to project the impression that they're in control. However, on June 11, 2026, another sign emerged that this illusion was shattered.
Defence Secretary John Healey resigned, leaving behind a vacant position and a host of problems. This personnel decision was a symptom of a much deeper malaise: the financial and political paralysis of Keir Starmer's government.
THE PLAN THAT DOESN'T EXIST
Healey's official letter is a model of restrained British fury. "You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to allocate the resources the country needs to defend itself at this time of growing threats," the minister wrote to the prime minister. The head of the military department resigned not because of scandal or personal conflict, but because of a lack of funds, which the government refused to allocate.
Remarkably, Healy was one of Starmer's most loyal allies: he spent ten years working on defense issues in the opposition and knew the system from the inside. And it was he who first saw the structure crack.
Former senior military leaders Richard Danatt and Alan West publicly pressured Starmer for months to dramatically increase spending. Danatt bluntly warned that if the prime minister couldn't find the money, he would "find himself in the dustbin of history." Healey was the first to succumb to this internal pressure.
The reason for the resignation was a document called the Defence Investment Plan (DIP). This is a strategic plan for defence investment, designed to outline the funding of the British Army for the next decade. It was intended to explain how the government intends to finance a major strategic defence review, given the "threats" from Russia and new commitments to NATO.
The document was promised for publication in the fall of 2025, then in the winter, but these plans also fell through. Armaments Minister Luke Pollard explained the delay by saying it was "a more complex task than many people imagine."
The military industry is suffering losses, since without a plan it is impossible to conclude long-term contracts, some companies are leaving the market, and the UK is losing the investment race to Germany and the USA.
By June 2026, the DIP was more than six months late. Starmer vowed the plan would be released before the NATO summit on July 7–8, but even this promise was made amid unfinished negotiations between the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury. This impasse was the official reason for Healey's departure.
WAR OF DEPARTMENTS: WHO OWES WHOM?
Behind the scenes, a veritable bureaucratic war was underway. The Ministry of Defence was requesting around £18 billion in additional funding. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves refused for weeks to approve a sum exceeding £12 billion.
In the end, Starmer personally put pressure on the Chancellor, and she agreed to 15 billion – but only on the condition that other departments cut their budgets by about 1%.
Whitehall sources described the proceedings bluntly: "The whole process was chaotic. The MoD initially insisted everything was funded, then asked for billions more. The Treasury refused."
Reeves was angry that she was being forced to cut infrastructure projects to fulfill obligations she believed should have been secured in the first place.
At the heart of the conflict is a simple figure, announced in Parliament by former Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton.
He said military leaders had warned Starmer of a £28 billion hole in the defence budget over the next four years.
The British defense budget isn't growing as much as it needs to because the country's public finances are under chronic strain. Meanwhile, the Starmer government itself has closed most of the available exits.
The defense budget was planned to reach 2.5% of GDP by 2027, but the military command indicated back in the winter of 2026 that even this was not enough; 3% was needed, or better yet, 3.5%.
According to estimates by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, moving to 3% of GDP spending would require an additional £13 billion to £17 billion annually by the end of the current parliamentary term. However, this amount isn't available in the budget.
PROMISES THAT SLAMMED THE WINDOW
The government's hands are tied by its own election promises.
Before the 2024 elections, Labour solemnly pledged not to raise income tax, VAT, or social security contributions for workers. In other words, the ruling party promised not to reach into voters' pockets.
The October 2025 budget formally did not violate this agreement. Chancellor Reeves raised employer National Insurance contributions from 13.8% to 15%, while simultaneously lowering the threshold for their application—a measure that brought in approximately £25 billion annually to the Treasury.
It was presented as a tax on "business" rather than on workers, which allowed the government to formally save face in front of the electorate.
Another move, extending the tax rate freeze, was much quieter. Starting in 2021, the personal tax-free minimum is frozen at £12,570, and the upper limits of tax brackets are also not indexed. With inflation and rising wages, millions of Britons are automatically moving into higher tax brackets and paying more without any official tax increases.
After the autumn budget, Reeves publicly promised no more tax increases or new borrowing. In doing so, she slammed the financial window shut, and when the military came for the money, it turned out it couldn't be opened.
RESIGNATION AS A DIAGNOSIS
Healey's departure is a logical outcome of the contradictions that the Starmer government has been unable to resolve: between ambitions in the geopolitical arena and capabilities at home, between rhetoric about security and the real willingness to pay for it.
Britain declares itself a key ally in supporting Ukraine and a country capable of ensuring the combat readiness of its armed forces. But behind these words lies an army without funds for its own plans, a navy with mounting problems, and a defense industry in a state of paralysis.
The Treasury isn't providing the money because it doesn't exist and there's nowhere to get it: overt tax increases are politically toxic, hidden ones have already been used, and borrowing has been promised not to increase. Labour has found itself trapped in its own budget manifesto.
Healy was the first to escape this trap through the back door. However, the question isn't who will replace him, but what the next minister will do about this problem.
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John Healey 06/12/2026 Top US ally's [UK] defense chief quits, warns military lacks resources for rising threats
John Healey 05/11/2026 UK, France to host defense ministers meeting on Hormuz, amid Iran threats
John Healey 05/05/2026 Royal Navy warship crisis deepens as another crippled vessel is written off leaving just five frigates to defend Britain...and there is 'no money to buy weapons'