Last week, saw another chaotic week for Labour, with John Healey, the now former Secretary of State for Defence resigning, he deserves credit for doing something frontbench politicians almost never do: telling an uncomfortable truth that his own leadership would rather leave unspoken. His resignation as Defence Secretary is not simply a political drama. It is a verdict on this government's priorities delivered from inside the Cabinet itself.
Sir Keir Starmer has spent the last two years warning that we live in a more dangerous world. He has spoken at length about a crumbling international security order. Those warnings are right. However, you cannot deliver speech after speech about the gravity of the threat we face and then refuse to have an honest conversation with the public about what defending this country actually costs. That contradiction has now claimed his Defence Secretary and his Armed Forces Minister.
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves is no better. This is a Chancellor who found billions for welfare settlements and has been content to reward the unions that bankroll her party yet pleads fiscal constraint the moment defence comes up. The money exists. What is lacking is the political will to spend it on the right things.
Security is not a rival to public services. It is what makes them possible. A government serious about protecting the NHS, the welfare state, and the pay of its workers would understand that defence is not in competition with any of those things. It is the precondition for all of them.
Security is not simply another budget line to be managed. It is the foundation on which everything else depends.
So where are the Labour backbenchers? Not only are they silent, they are actively resisting the conversation about hard choices. Whether welfare spending should be weighed against defence capability is precisely the kind of difficult, grown up debate that Parliament exists to have. Labour MPs will not go near it.
Healey had the courage to say what needed to be said. His resignation letter made clear he was being asked to make decisions that could leave Britain less safe and less prepared. His colleagues should reflect on that seriously.
Labour MPs were handed their seats on a promise of serious government. Healey has led the way. His colleagues should follow.
Defence is the first duty of government. Right now it is being treated as an inconvenience. Labour backbenches need to wake up.
