John Healey resigns: All the politicians who have left Starmer’s government since 2024 election
John Healey becomes the 21st politician to leave government office since Sir Keir Starmer’s general election in July 2024.
Mr Healey accused Sir Keir of failing to properly fund the country’s defense investment plan “at a dangerous time”.
In his resignation letter, Mr Healey said the prime minister was “unable and the Treasury unwilling to allocate the resources the country needs to defend the country at this time of increasing threats”.
Mr Healey is the sixth Labor Minister to resign in the past month.
Here are all the politicians appointed by Sir Keir who have resigned, retired or been sacked in the two years since the election.
1. Louise Haigh (November 28, 2024)
He resigned from the transport ministry in 2013 after failing to correct police records regarding a stolen mobile phone.
2. Lale Sıddık (January 14, 2025)
He resigned as Economic Secretary to the Treasury following an independent consultant’s investigation into ministerial standards.
3.Andrew Gwynne (February 8, 2025)
He was removed from his position as undersecretary of state for public health and prevention due to comments in a WhatsApp group.
4. Lord Cryer (February 14, 2025)
He resigned as government whip in the House of Lords for personal reasons.
5. Anneliese Dodds (February 28, 2025)
She resigned as minister of international development and ministry responsible for women due to cuts in the international aid budget.
6. Lord Hunt (May 22, 2025)
He retired after serving as secretary of state at the Energy Security Administration.
7. Baroness Curran (6 June 2025)
He resigned from his state secretary position at the Ministry of Energy Security due to health problems.
8.Vicky Foxcroft (June 19, 2025)
He resigned as government whip in the House of Commons over proposed cuts to disability benefits.
9. Lord Moraes (22 July 2025)
He resigned as government whip in the House of Lords for personal reasons.
10.Ruşanara Ali (7 August 2025)
He resigned as homelessness minister at the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government following allegations that he increased the rent on a property he owned.
11.Angela Rayner (September 5, 2025)
He resigned as housing minister and deputy prime minister after admitting he had underpaid stamp duty on an apartment.
12th Baroness Gustafsson (5 September 2025)
He resigned as investment minister to spend more time with his young family.
13. Lord Mandelson (11 September 2025)
The US ambassador has been removed from his post after emails revealed the depth of his relationship with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
14. Josh Simons (February 28, 2026)
He resigned as a Cabinet Office minister following reports that the think tank he formerly ran had paid a PR firm to do background checks on journalists.
15.Ashley Dalton (March 2, 2026)
She resigned from the ministry of public health and prevention because she was being treated for breast cancer.
16. Miatta Fahnbulleh (May 12, 2026)
He resigned as communities minister, saying his voters had made it “really clear that they had lost faith and trust in the prime minister” due to the fallout from Labour’s local election losses.
17.Jess Phillips (May 12, 2026)
She resigned as protection minister, criticizing the prime minister’s failure to be “courageous” and accusing him of not acting quickly enough on violence against women and girls.
18.Alex Davies-Jones (12 May 2026)
She resigned as victims’ minister and called on the prime minister to set a timetable for her departure “in the best interests of the country”, amid fallout from Labour’s local election losses tackling violence against women and girls.
19.Zübir Ahmed (May 12, 2026)
He resigned as minister for health, innovation and safety after losing confidence in the prime minister following the party’s poor performance in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.
20. Wes Streeting (May 14, 2026)
He resigned as health secretary after “unprecedented” local election defeats, criticizing Sir Keir’s leadership and saying “there is a gap where we need vision”.
21. John Healey (June 11, 2026)
He resigned as defense secretary, accusing Sir Keir of failing to properly fund the Defense Investment Plan.
