𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Healey is a man of principle. A steady, reliable administrator with almost 30 years of parliamentary experience. Even Tory leader Kemi Badenoch agrees. She recently praised him for acting “honourably and in the national interest”. She’s not alone. Healey is renowned across the house for his sound judgement and strong work ethic. But most of all, for being honourable.

We saw that on June 11 when the right honourable member resigned, and for an honourable reason. He stepped down after then prime minister Keir Starmer refused to fully fund the government’s long-term Defence Investment Plan. Healey argued that the financial package offered by the Treasury “fell well short” of what was needed to protect the country during a highly volatile time.

In a scathing resignation letter, Healey warned that the funding shortfall would force him to make cuts that would diminish the readiness of the armed forces and make the country less safe. He insisted Britain needed a clear path to 3% of GDP on defence by 2030. Stirring stuff. And very honourable.

It won him bipartisan respect. Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith publicly called Healey “an honourable man”, while other opposition MPs praised his refusal to attach his name to a Budget he believed was unsafe for British troops. Healey looked like a man you’d want beside you in the trenches.

Unless your name is Keir Starmer. Then you’d rather he was in the enemy trenches, where you could keep an eye on his bayonet. Healey’s resignation skewered his boss. Now Andy Burnham is in Number 10.

Healey has a much better job today. Chancellor is a big step up from Defence Secretary. There’s nothing wrong with ambition, and Healey is an honourable man. He resigned on a point of principle, not because he was angling for a better job. Or so we thought. Until yesterday when he made a screeching U-turn.

In his first major interview as Chancellor, John Healey said he would not commit to the 3% defence spending target in his October Budget after all. When pressed by Sky News political editor Sam Coates, Healey said “fiscal discipline” had to be his first priority. The UK’s financial position is “not easy”, he said. Finding extra money immediately is a massive challenge. Which is true.

But it was a massive challenge for Starmer too, and Healey didn’t give him any quarter. Now he’s demanding it for himself. Suddenly, he doesn’t look so honourable. Hypocrite might be the better word.

When Coates accused Healey of offering “continuity” with the Starmer government, he went all weasily: “We’re a continuity of a Labour government with a change of leader.” That didn’t sound honourable either. It sounded laughable. Healey is turning into continuity Rachel Reeves, and nobody wants that.

But Healey is an honourable man. So is Andy Burnham. He pushed himself forward as PM because he believed he could better serve his country than Starmer. Yet as the days pass, he looks increasingly like the man he replaced. Which is odd, because Burnham is an honourable man. Isn’t he?