Starmer’s leadership under further pressure after defence ministers quit – UK politics live

Both John Healey and Al Carns resigned from their ministerial positions on Thursday over the government’s defence investment plan

Al Carns also indicated that he has leadership ambitions in the resignation letter than he released last night.

Carns resigned as armed forces minister around eight hours after John Healey resigned as defence secretary and for both of them the key issue was Downing Street not committing as much money as they wanted for the defence investment plan (Dip).

Too many working people in this country feel insecure even when they are doing everything right. They work hard, contribute, pay their taxes and still feel one setback away from trouble. Public confidence in our institutions is weakening and politics increasingly looks performative while everyday life gets harder.

The machinery of government itself has been left to decay. Decisions that should take days, take months. Departments fight each other instead of the problem. Officials and ministers who know the truth are not always rewarded for telling it. We are trying to govern a more dangerous world with processes designed for a calmer one, and the gap is now showing in the things that matter most.