The political situation in the UK

Badenoch: Healey's resignation shows that Starmer is losing grip

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is losing grip. This is what Tory leader Kemi Badenoch says after the country's Defense Secretary John Healey resigned.

- His Health Secretary resigned two weeks ago and now his Defense Secretary is resigning at a critical time, when our country is facing global threats, Badenoch says according to The Guardian.

John Healey resigned in protest that the defense budget was too small.

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting has also expressed his support for Healey.

"John was an excellent Defense Secretary. Every warning he gives must be taken very seriously,"  

British Defense Secretary John Healey resigns in protest

British Defense Secretary John Healey resigns. In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Healey writes that he and the government do not agree on the investments in British defense.

He praises the government's work with support for Ukraine and the investments in defense spending since they took power, but emphasizes that even more is needed.

"You have not been able, and the Treasury has not been willing, to invest the resources that the nation needs to be able to defend itself at a time when the threat landscape is increasing," he writes. Streeting writes in a statement. 

Analysis: A weakened prime minister has been weakened further

The resignation of John Healey as Britain's defence secretary in protest against the fact that the defence budget is not expected to reach three percent of GDP by 2030 comes as less of a surprise than one might think. The Guardian's Peter Walker writes in an analysis.

"Healey knew what he wanted to achieve - not just the promised 3.5 percent of GDP for defence by 2035, but at least 3 percent by 2030 - and he chose to resign rather than be forced to plan Britain's defence with fewer resources," writes Walker.

At the same time, his resignation is a devastating criticism of Keir Starmer's government, writes the BBC's Chris Mason. Healey is the sixth minister to resign in just over a month.

“An already politically weakened prime minister has been further weakened,” Mason writes.