‘Healey and Carns are gone. Labour must finally get serious about national security’

There is no sugarcoating it: the resignations of both John Healey and Al Carns is a major, and potentially fatal, blow to Keir Starmer’s leadership. Losing two highly respected ministers is always damaging — but losing them over a fundamental disagreement on something as important as national security is disastrous. What further compounds the problem is that both Healey and Carns are fundamentally right: Starmer and his government have, as Kemi Badenoch has claimed, dithered on this issue.

Labour inherited a terrible situation when it came to power in 2024. More than a decade of underinvestment had left the armed forces hollowed out and, as former Conservative Defence Secretary Ben Wallace put it, fit only to “stay at home and do a bit of tootling around”.

Yet Labour has now been in office for almost two years and, while some progress has been made, the pace of reform — and the resources behind it — has been insufficient.

If Starmer survives this latest setback, or if a new leader takes over, they must heed these warnings and act decisively.

‘Be honest about the scale and breadth of the threats we face’

The first step is to be honest about both the scale and breadth of the threats we face. This is not simply about the possibility of a conventional war with Russia or being drawn into conflict in the Middle East. It is also about the hybrid attacks we encounter every day, from the constant probing of our cyber defences to disinformation campaigns orchestrated by hostile states and designed to undermine our society.

The public is already becoming more aware of these dangers. A YouGov survey published in January found that 77 percent of respondents considered a major world conflict within the next 20 years likely or very likely — a 14-point increase compared with 2019.

‘Set out a clear and credible financial plan’

The next step is to set out a clear and credible financial plan. A key priority should be establishing a properly funded timetable for reaching defence spending of three percent of GDP. However, this is only part of the picture. Equally important is a commitment to place security at the heart of government decision-making. From food supplies to media policy, every major choice should be judged through the lens of whether it strengthens the country’s resilience.

In some areas, the government has already made encouraging progress. The push towards green energy, for example, will enhance long-term energy security and should be framed not only as a net-zero policy, but also as a means of reducing Britain’s dependence on foreign powers and vulnerable supply chains.

‘Tackling disinformation’

Another important measure is tackling the spread of disinformation. A recent report by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee concluded that the “depth and intensity of hostile activity orchestrated by Russia… is that of a state at war”. The committee warned that this poses a serious threat to British democracy. Alongside increasing funding for the BBC World Service, it called for the creation of a National Counter Disinformation Centre to address the challenge directly.

Such measures will not be universally popular. For many on the left, spending more on defence while so many people struggle with the cost of living will be seen as a betrayal of socialist principles. A recent YouGov survey found that only 30 percent of Green voters support increasing defence spending, compared with 56 percent of the population overall.

Those concerned with fiscal discipline, meanwhile, will question where the money will come from.

Here the government must be willing to make the progressive economic case for defence clearly and confidently. We cannot create a better society for all without a secure foundation on which to build it. At the same time, defence investment can be directed towards supporting British industry and creating stable, high-skilled jobs in regions that need them most, helping to drive economic renewal beyond London and the South East.

Meanwhile, the costs of failing to protect ourselves continue to rise. A recent report by Alma Economics for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology found that cyber attacks alone already cost the UK £14.7 billion a year — equivalent to 0.5% of GDP — while cyber-enabled intellectual property theft costs a further £1 billion to £8.5 billion annually. Over the long term, investment in securing the country should more than pay for itself.

‘Losing two respected ministers isn’t just a political setback – it is also a warning’

Finally, Labour must ensure that the Conservatives shoulder their share of responsibility for the position in which Britain now finds itself. During Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Kemi Badenoch attempted to dismiss her party’s role by saying she was “not here to talk about history”. Starmer was right to challenge her on that point, but he now needs to go further.

The government should consistently argue that years of underinvestment under successive Conservative administrations have made rebuilding our armed forces far more costly than it otherwise would have been. Likewise, the failure to respond adequately to the warning signs following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 deprived Britain of a decade of valuable time to prepare. The government should not allow that record to fade from public memory.

Ultimately, losing two respected ministers is not only a major political setback for Labour — it is also a warning. Healey and Carns have exposed the failure to match the scale of the threats Britain faces with the urgency those threats demand. The government must use this moment to reset its priorities and put national security at the heart of government. The cost of doing so may be high, but the cost of delay will be far higher.

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