Healey Says Treasury Treats Defence as Drain, Not Driver
John Healey, who resigned as defence secretary over the Defence Investment Plan, said the Treasury blocked higher military spending: “The Treasury said no in the end”, describing “a Treasury orthodoxy that’s a dead hand on dynamic government” that “still often sees defence as a drain on public spending and not the driver of economic growth”. He said officials were planning for 3% of GDP “but not until 2034-35”, and welcomed Andy Burnham’s commitment to fully fund the plan.
This is the inside account of the row that helped end a premiership: the £15bn plan Healey quit over reaches roughly 2.7% of GDP by 2030 against the 3% he demanded and the higher figures Washington now presses for, and the £4.7bn hole it leaves must be filled at the incoming government’s first Budget. His framing — defence as growth driver versus Treasury drain — is precisely the argument Burnham’s camp is having with itself over fiscal rules, and Healey’s public blessing of Burnham’s commitment adds a marker the new chancellor will be measured against. Watch whether the Treasury orthodoxy critique surfaces in the chancellor appointment itself.