UK Armed Forces minister resigns hours after defense secretary quits over spending dispute

UK Armed Forces Minister Al Carns resigned on Thursday, hours after Defense Secretary John Healey stepped down over a dispute with the government regarding future defense spending.

"It has become clear to me that the change I had pushed for is not going to come," he said in a resignation letter.

Carns said he could no longer remain in government because the changes he had advocated for in defense policy and military investment were unlikely to be implemented.

He argued that the government's planned defense investment strategy was "not built for the threat we face," saying the armed forces were being asked to operate in a more dangerous world without sufficient resources.

"The character of conflict is changing faster than our procurement can keep up with," he said, warning that current spending plans were neither transformative enough nor adequately funded.

His resignation came shortly after Healey announced his own departure, citing the government's failure to commit the level of defense spending he considered necessary to address rising security threats.

In his resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Healey said a long-awaited defense investment plan did not provide the resources required by the armed forces and criticized the Treasury for refusing additional funding.

Starmer rejected the criticism, saying the government's defense investment plan would provide the military with the resources needed to maintain national security while ensuring fiscal sustainability.

The twin resignations deal a significant blow to the government as it faces growing debate over defense readiness and military spending amid an increasingly unstable global security environment.

Meanwhile, Starmer has appointed Dan Jarvis as the new defense secretary, Downing Street has just announced.

Jarvis has served as the MP for Barnsley North since 2011 and was mayor of South Yorkshire between 2018 and 2022. Following Labour’s return to government after the 2024 general election, he was appointed security minister at the Home Office, a position he continues to hold.

Before entering politics, Jarvis served as an officer in the Parachute Regiment from 1997 to 2011. During his military career, he saw operational deployments in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq, and Afghanistan.