John Healey has become the 21st politician appointed by Sir Keir Starmer to leave government service since the general election in July 2024.
Mr Healey accused Sir Keir of failing to properly fund the nation’s defence investment plan during a “dangerous time”.
In his resignation letter, Mr Healey said that the prime minister 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”.
Mr Healey is the sixth Labour minister to resign in just the past month.
Here are all of the politicians appointed by Sir Keir who have resigned, retired, or been sacked from their posts in the two years since the election.
1. Louise Haigh (28 November 2024)
Resigned as transport secretary after failing to correct police records in 2013 regarding a stolen mobile phone.
2. Tulip Siddiq (14 January 2025)
Resigned as economic secretary to the Treasury after an investigation by the independent adviser on ministerial standards.
3. Andrew Gwynne (8 February 2025)
Sacked from job as under-secretary of state for public health and prevention for comments in a WhatsApp group.
4. Lord Cryer (14 February 2025)
Resigned as government whip in the House of Lords over personal reasons.
5. Anneliese Dodds (28 February 2025)
Resigned as international development minister and minister for women over cuts to the international aid budget.
6. Lord Hunt (22 May 2025)
Retired after holding post of minister of state in Department for Energy Security.
7. Baroness Curran (6 June 2025)
Resigned as minister of state in Department for Energy Security because of ill health.
8. Vicky Foxcroft (19 June 2025)
Resigned as government whip in the House of Commons over proposed cuts to disability benefits.
9. Lord Moraes (22 July 2025)
Resigned as government whip in the House of Lords over personal reasons.
10. Rushanara Ali (7 August 2025)
Resigned as homelessness minister in Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government after allegations she increased rent on a property she owned.
11. Angela Rayner (5 September 2025)
Resigned as housing secretary and deputy prime minister after admitting she underpaid stamp duty on a flat.
12. Baroness Gustafsson (5 September 2025)
Resigned as minister for investment to spend more time with her young family.
13. Lord Mandelson (11 September 2025)
Sacked as ambassador to the US after emails revealed the depth of his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
14. Josh Simons (28 February 2026)
Resigned as Cabinet Office minister over reports the thinktank he used to run paid a PR firm to investigate journalists’ backgrounds.
15. Ashley Dalton (2 March 2026)
Resigned as minister for public health and prevention as undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
16. Miatta Fahnbulleh (12 May 2026)
Resigned as communities minister, saying her constituents had made it “really clear they had lost faith and confidence in the prime minister” amid fallout from Labour’s local election losses.
17. Jess Phillips (12 May 2026)
Resigned as safeguarding minister, criticising the prime minister’s failure to be “bold” and accusing him of failing to act fast enough on violence against women and girls.
18. Alex Davies-Jones (12 May 2026)
Resigned as minister for victims and tackling violence against women and girls amid fallout from Labour’s local election losses, urging the prime minister to set out a timetable for his departure “in the country’s interest”.
19. Zubir Ahmed (12 May 2026)
Resigned as minister for health innovation and safety after losing confidence in the prime minister after the party’s poor performance in the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
20. Wes Streeting (14 May 2026)
Resigned as health secretary after “unprecedented” local election defeats, criticising Sir Keir’s leadership and saying “where we need vision, we have a vacuum”.
21. John Healey (11 June 2026)
Resigned as defence secretary, accusing Sir Keir of failing to properly fund the Defence Investment Plan.
