DIPlomacy has failed. Unbeknown to us, John Healey took part in his final duties as Defence Secretary on Wednesday, hosting Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, before resigning the next day © PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo.
John Healey has DIPped from the Government, handing a withering resignation letter to the Prime Minister on Thursday after a week of growing outrage regarding the Government’s plans for defence. Following a year of farce over the Government’s failure to publish its Defence Investment Plan, which would set out where it will throw money in the face of, by the PM’s own words, a potential Russian attack against NATO by 2030, the Defence Secretary, Armed Forces Minister and their parliamentary aides gave up defending the indefensible and threw in the towel. Despite rumours the DIP would be published today (to the fury of Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who warned any attempt to publish it while the Commons wasn’t sitting would be “an utter disgrace”), Healey said he was only given sight of the plan’s financial settlement on Monday, and that it fell ‘well short of what is required.’ In words which we’re sure will be come to haunt the Prime Minister in the forthcoming leadership battle, he said the minuscule uplift in cash would ‘increase the risk to personnel’ and ‘make the country less safe’; and that the PM had been ‘unable’, and the Treasury ‘unwilling’, to cough up what was needed. His departure leaves the Government in a very tight spot ahead of a crunch NATO Summit in less than a month, and exposed to allegations that the PM and Chancellor neither view defence as a priority nor are willing to take tough choices to secure the country. To fill his Healey-shaped hole, Starmer tapped Dan Jarvis, the Security Minister and veteran of the Parachute Regiment, who will now somehow have to spin a financial settlement that Starmer’s right-hand man on defence for over six years refused to endorse. That said, Paras are famously used to being dropped into dangerous situations, surrounded by hostile territory, with few resources.
Another week, another murder, another riot. Following the violence in Southampton after the murder of Henry Nowack, Belfast erupted this week following a horrific attack by a Sudanese migrant, which the victim mercifully survived due to the brave intervention of members of the public, but was left with life-changing injuries. Masked rioters torched buses, cars and even houses with people inside them, causing some to flee. SDLP MP Claire Hanna labelled the violence a pogrom after reports the rioters were targeting non-white families; words made heavier by the knowledge that people have been burnt out of their houses well within living memory in Northern Ireland before. Following reports the attacker flew to Dublin, crossed the border into Northern Ireland and claimed asylum in 2023, the attack has recast a light on post-Brexit arrangements at the UK’s only land border, and dragged an argument between unionists and republicans in Northern Ireland back to Westminster, while also raising questions about why and how the attacker so easily attained leave to remain. The violence soon abated, although it seems unlikely it will be last riot before the summer ends.
0.08% – Increase John Healey claimed the Defence Investment Plan will make to the defence budget by 2030, leading him to resign as Defence Secretary.
7 – Defence Secretaries in the last 10 years.
0.7% – GDP growth in the three months to April 2026.
< 61% – Healthy Life Expectancy in 2024, its lowest rate since records began in 2011. Men can expect to spend 60.7 years in "good" general health, compared with 60.9 years for women.
9% – Increase in average weekly household expenditure in the last financial year, rising by £53 to £676 compared to 2024/25.
500-700 – police officers Met Commissioner Mark Rowley has said will need to be taken off the front-line after London Mayor Sadiq Khan blocked a contract to use US firm Palantir’s AI software.
55% – Increase in the likelihood a child will be absent from school on their birthday, according to the latest DfE stats.
1,957 – Reported cyber attacks on local councils in 2024 according to a new DSIT report out this week.
12 years and 17 days – Narendra Modi’s term in office so far, after he became the longest serving Prime Minister of India this week, overtaking the record set by the country’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru.
Rumours of a possible deal to end the war between Iran and the United States have materialised again, after the US President called off air strikes, claiming that negotiators had "just made a great settlement" with Iran. A diplomatic source has reported that the interim deal would extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and pave the way for talks on Iran’s nuclear program. While Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has called reports of an agreement “speculative”, Trump has insisted that a deal was "subject to finalisation of documents, which should get done, over the next few days".
The Prime Minister outlined an “emerging revolution in technology” at London Tech Week that could transform lives and communities, positioning the UK as “uniquely placed to lead”. He highlighted the UK’s status as the world’s third-largest tech economy and strong investment in start-ups, arguing the Government would take an “active” approach: supporting risk-takers, ensuring sovereignty, and enabling growth. Starmer announced a £400m investment in AI chips, stricter child safety expectations for tech firms, and a new AI Jobs Tool to support people into work.
Rachel Reeves argued AI can boost UK productivity by 0.4-1.3 percentage points over the next decade, in a speech at the AI Adoption Summit on Tuesday. The Chancellor used her speech to highlight recent measures to support scaling businesses and the launch of the Sovereign AI Unit, and confirmed a £150m British Business Bank investment into Playground’s Deep Technology Fund. She also confirmed that the Government will bring forward legislation in the Autumn to "give powers to safely test innovative products and services in ways current regulation prohibits" and announced Professor Simon Johnson as the new Chair of the AI Economics Institute.
DSIT launched a new AI Hardware Plan to back UK firms developing chips and semiconductor technologies, alongside investment in skills. Measures include £750m for a national AI supercomputer by 2030 (with £400m for next-generation chips), £120m for an AI Hardware Innovation Programme, and £45m for skills support.
More on AI… AI legal assistants are set to help improve the justice system and reduce court backlogs under a new Ministry of Justice pilot announced this week. The technology will initially be trialled in tightly controlled environments, with clear standards to ensure safe and ethical use, before any consideration of rollout in the Crown Court. The MoJ also announced the launch of a new AI growth project to fast-track innovation in legal technology, known as LawTech.
Foreign Sec Yvette Cooper concluded a three-day visit to China and India focused on UK national interests, including freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Ukraine, and AI. In Shenzhen, she met business leaders and tech firms, highlighting advances in AI and robotics while calling for stronger global standards on safety and security; whilst in New Delhi, she co-launched a Regional Maritime Security Centre and launched an AI-powered Global Supply Chain Observatory to track mineral flows and risks.
Kemi Badenoch announced that a Conservative Government would repeal the Public Sector Equality Duty “in its entirety”, in a speech at the Institute for Government on Tuesday. The Tory leader argued that the Duty had “turned equality into a zero-sum game, where some groups are preferred over others”, adding that she hoped “the private sector will follow suit because they have this problem too”.
Police and local authorities will be given stronger powers to close rogue businesses as part of efforts to tackle criminal activity later this year. The Home Office announced this week that secondary legislation will be introduced to double the maximum duration of closure orders to 12 months. The Home Secretary has also ordered an urgent review of vape shops, barbers, and car washes on the skilled worker sponsorship list.
The Department for Transport published its third cycling and walking investment strategy, setting a national target for people to hit the pavement or pedals for 55% of short trips in towns. The strategy aims to deliver 5,000 new walking, wheeling and cycling routes and 10,000 safer crossings, highlighting how the new routes have the potential to save households money, improve public health, cut carbon emissions, reduce congestion and boost local economies.
Nigel Farage announced Reform UK’s new policies to help the self-employed, revealing that the party would increase the VAT threshold from £90,000 to £150,000. He acknowledged that this would come at an economic cost of about £2bn but asserted it will pay for itself “by making people hungrier to take on more work, to employ more people [and] to grow their businesses”. Richard Tice also set out new party policy focused on ‘cleaning up Britain’, explaining that the party would: increase FPNs for fly-tipping to £5,000 for individuals and a mandatory minimum fine of £20,000 for commercial large-scale fly tipping; introduce an annual national action day to “rekindle civic pride in communities”; and ensure littering is made a key part of planning conditions for restaurants, fast food outlets “and the like”.
The Makerfield by-election will take place next Thursday, with the contest expected to be fought primarily between Reform UK candidate and local plumber Robert Kenyon and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who is hoping a win would be the first step in a potential run for the Labour leadership. Five candidates participated in a live BBC debate earlier in the week, discussing a range of topics from immigration and crime to the cost of living. All eyes will surely be on this race in the week to come…
The House of Commons sought to hammer out some legislation this week, beginning with committee of the whole House and the third reading of the Steel Industry Nationalisation Bill on Monday and Tuesday respectively. The Railways Bill remained on track, also passing through the House with its third reading on Wednesday. In the meantime, Tuesday saw a statement from Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on the Middle East, while on Wednesday Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge was granted an urgent question to press the Government for answers on the elusive Defence Investment Plan.
The House of Lords also took time to comb over some Bills, with the second reading of the Financial Services and Markets Bill on Monday and the Commercial Payments Bill on Tuesday. Thursday saw a debate on welfare reforms and youth unemployment, prompted by the Milburn Review of Britain’s burgeoning NEET crisis – a figure which had increased by two before the day was out.
Although perhaps suffering a reduced readership this week, Committees continued to publish, with new reports from the Public Accounts Committee on the Access to Work scheme and regulating for growth. In addition, the Transport Committee published a report on modernising taxi licensing, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee assessed the affordability of home ownership, and the Welsh Affairs Committee considered the prison system in Wales.
In case you’ve been living under a rock and somehow managed to skip over the rest of this roundup so far… John Healey handed in his resignation as Defence Secretary on Thursday, sharing his letter to the PM in which he explained he ‘would not be able to accept a DIP settlement that does not give our Forces the resources they need.’ Following in his wake was Al Carns, who resigned as Armed Forces Minister, as well as Pamela Nash and Rachel Hopkins, who both resigned as PPSs to the MOD. Dan Jarvis, who previously served as Security Minister, has since been appointed as the new Defence Secretary, with both the Security and Armed Forces portfolios still vacant at the time of writing.
Dame Sarah Healey (of no known relation to the former Defence Secretary) has been announced as the new Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions from 1 August, replacing Sir Peter Schofield who is stepping down from the role next month. She will bring extensive experience at this level, currently acting as the Perm Sec at MHCLG, and having previously held the role at DCMS.
The new CEO of the Office for Investment was appointed, with Chair of Shell UK Parminder Kohli taking on the role – where he will be responsible for setting the strategic direction of OFI, ensuring it delivers against its key priorities, and enhancing collaboration across Government and with investors to support growth.
Baroness Hogg was reappointed as a non-executive member of the OBR, as her term was due to end next week. She has agreed to serve a further one-year term until 19 June 2027. Meanwhile, Dame Susan Rice will be stepping down as a non-executive member of the OBR when her term ends in a week’s time.
The Environment Agency is on the hunt for fresh blood, as Alan Lovell announced he will step down as its Chair at the end of December 2026. The recruitment process for his successor is due to take place over the summer.
David Hill has been named as the first Chief Executive of the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation, a new regeneration body being designed to drive infrastructure-first growth at scale and deliver thousands of new home and jobs across the region. Hill brings with him extensive experience from working in central Government, including as interim Permanent Secretary at Defra.
Belinda Lewis has been selected to become the next Governor of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha from September 2026, succeeding Nigel Phillips who will be retiring from the Diplomatic Service. Meanwhile, Vicente Solera Deuchar has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic in succession to Nicholas Bowler, taking up the new post in August 2026.
The Government should quickly take a tougher approach towards technology and social media companies, according to a new YouGov poll, which found that 63% of Britons believe current regulation does not go far enough. Support for stronger action varies across the country, with Londoners less likely to favour further measures (57%) than those in Wales, where seven in ten believe the Government must clamp down further. The poll also highlights a clear age divide, with support for tighter regulation ranging from 49% among 18-24-year-olds to 75% among those aged 65 and over.
To Scotland now, where things continue to look bleak for Labour. New Ipsos polling found that 68% of Scots believe Keir Starmer should step down before the next General Election. However, none of Labour's leading potential successors enjoys a positive favourability rating among the Scottish public. Andy Burnham performs best, but still records a net favourability rating of -10 according to the poll.
More than two million people across the UK may now be borrowing from illegal lenders, according to a report by the Centre for Social Justice. The research shows the number of people using loan sharks has risen by 500,000 since 2022, driven largely by households struggling to cover everyday costs such as groceries and bills. The study also highlights the changing nature of illegal lending, with two-thirds of victims introduced to lenders through friends or family and 28% reporting threats of social media shaming.
In the world of clickbait, AI and constant scams we now all inhabit, this week saw one of the most bizarre attempts to merge all three, with the extraordinary footage of the fight between Nigel Farage and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey making it onto X… (and yes we know that link takes you straight to our website – it was a pun within a pun on clickbait – forgive us). Top marks to The Times’ diary editor Jack Blackburn for his thread piecing together the very strange AI-generated images that appeared all over X this week into some sort of timeline, and for his deep investigative work noting Noel Edmonds must have been on the set somewhere. Despite the very serious issue of the scams reportedly behind the images, the Westminster bubble had a bit of fun, as it always does, correcting them to give a more accurate depiction of this week’s DIPpy events…
Speaking of which, you’ve got to feel for Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle who we expect may have been left feeling a little DIPspondent on Friday morning, having been sent out to defend the Government’s spending plans for defence. This interview with the BBC’s Naga Munchetty – who questioned him on how he could so confidently defend the Defence Investment Plan when he, unlike his former Cabinet colleague John Healey, had not seen it – is worth a watch, albeit through your fingers…
Editor’s note: The team would like to apologise for jumping off the DIP end with the puns this week. Sometimes politics is the gift that keeps on giving, and this week was particularly serenDIPitous… We hope you have a good weekend.
