Keir Starmer picked Dan Jarvis as the UK’s defense secretary, as the embattled prime minister tries to reassert control and prevent John Healey’s exit from worsening a leadership crisis at the ruling Labour Party.
Jarvis was previously security minister. Before entering politics he was an officer in the British Army’s parachute regiment and served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo, among other deployments.
The appointment followed Healey’s surprise resignation on Thursday due to a months-long defense spending row with the Treasury. It’s unclear how long Jarvis will stay in the job though, given the prime minister’s own future is overshadowed by a by-election next week that’s expected to pave the way for Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to mount a Labour leadership challenge.
Healey had been pushing for the Treasury to make up a £28 billion ($37 billion) funding shortfall. But he was rebuffed by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who struggled to convince other departments to make the cuts necessary for Starmer to fulfill his key ambition of boosting spending on defense, Bloomberg reported earlier.
His departure further undermines Starmer’s authority as he has remained loyal to him even while other ministers and members of the parliament have called in recent weeks on the prime minister to step down.
The resignation also raises the risk of uncertainty the defense sector faces. Starmer told the House of Commons that his long-delayed defense investment plan would finally be published ahead of July’s NATO summit. But the government now doesn’t know when the release will be, according to sources familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing internal ructions.