Polite but deadly: John Healey skewers Keir Starmer as he heads for the door | John Crace

The defence secretary’s departure was the wrong resignation at the worst possible time for the prime minister

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During Wednesday’s prime minister’s questions, the defence secretary was standing at the other end of the Commons, away from other cabinet members on the government frontbench. His expression gave nothing away as Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch blamed one another for spending too much on welfare and not enough on defence. In hindsight, he was possibly thinking “to hell with both of them”. Most defence secretaries go native sooner or later, imagining themselves to be embedded officers serving on the frontline. Tory Ben Wallace appeared to hate most of his cabinet colleagues by the time he resigned in 2023.

Less than 24 hours after PMQs, Healey had also resigned, his departure being all the more powerful for being so unexpected. This exit seemed to come out of a clear blue sky. There had been no briefings to the media in the preceding days. No threats to stand down if his demands were not met. All the arguments had taken place behind closed doors. A determination to do the right thing throughout.

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