'I'm not going to walk away': Starmer vows to fight on as PM after government resignations
Sir Keir Starmer's fragile authority has suffered a further blow with the resignation of defence secretary John Healey and armed forces minister Al Carns over the long-delayed defence investment plan (Dip).
Sir Keir Starmer has defended his welfare reforms amid calls for further cuts to fund the military, as he insisted he will fight on as Prime Minister despite more government resignations.
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Sir Keir's authority suffered further blows in recent days after John Healey resigned as defence secretary, followed by Al Carns' resignation as armed forces minister, over the long-delayed defence investment plan (Dip).
Sir Keir admitted he has “got to turn things around” if he is going to remain as Prime Minister and lead Labour into the next general election.
"I am not going to walk away," he said of his job. "I don't think we should plunge the country into the chaos of a leadership election."
He added: "In the last few weeks, others have made their own case. I have been concentrating on the job I was elected to do, which is to deliver for this country."
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"This is about a sense of service and duty. It's not vanity. It's not stubbornness. It's duty," Sir Keir said.
In his resignation letter, Mr Healey accused Sir Keir of being unable to sufficiently fund the country's defence, claiming the proposed spending plan "could make the country less safe".
The Prime Minister insisted defence spending was a priority and said he had taken the “difficult decisions” necessary to keep the country safe.
The government has faced calls to make cuts to welfare spending to be able to provide more money for the country's defence.
Asked whether he lost credibility in the vote on welfare reforms last year, and whether he has been unable to recover since, Sir Keir insisted they are reforming welfare.
"We are reforming welfare," the Prime Minister said, referencing the youth guarantee, steps taken to rebalance Universal Credit, and the introduction of the "right to try".
"They are all measures to get people into work" and free up resources, he said.
Asked whether the government can get to a point where the bill is coming down in future years, the Prime Minister said: "Yes, I do want to free up more resources," adding that the measures already outlined are the right way of doing this.
The timing of the resignations of Mr Healey and Mr Carns, along with two ministerial aides, comes at a moment of peril for Sir Keir, whose premiership has looked precarious since May’s election results across England, Wales and Scotland.
Andy Burnham hopes to return to Westminster in next week’s Makerfield by-election and has made no secret of his leadership ambitions, while former health secretary Wes Streeting will also run in any contest.