UK defense chief quits in fresh crisis for Starmer – POLITICO

LONDON — British Defense Secretary John Healey resigned from Keir Starmer's beleaguered government Thursday as a long-running battle over funding for the country's armed forces came to a head.

In a scathing letter to Starmer, Healey said he was quitting with "great regret and reluctance" — and said the PM had been "unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats."

The resignation of one of Starmer's most senior ministers over the repeatedly-delayed Defence Investment Plan comes just days before a crucial by-election in which Andy Burnham, a Labour rival to Starmer, could make his way back into parliament to mount a leadership challenge.