by Bill Heaney
Dan Jarvis has been appointed as the new defence secretary following John Healey’s resignation earlier on Thursday in a dispute over military funding.
The Barnsley North MP has served as security minister since 2024 in the Home Office.
A former soldier, Jarvis was first elected as an MP in 2011 and held a variety of shadow front bench roles before serving on the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy in 2017.
In 2018, he was elected as the first Mayor of South Yorkshire, and after leaving the mayoralty, he was appointed Shadow Security Minister in September 2023.
In a statement released after Jarvis’ appointment, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was pleased to make the appointment, as the government works to “meet the growing threats facing our country.”
He wrote: “My first duty is to keep the British people safe, and I will always do what is necessary to protect our national security.
“I am pleased to appoint Dan Jarvis as Defence Secretary as we strengthen our armed forces and meet the growing threats facing our country.
“This Labour government is delivering the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War.
“In a dangerous and volatile world, we will give our armed forces the capabilities they need to defend Britain and keep our nation secure.”
Healey resigned after a row with the prime minister over military spending, accusing the PM of making the country “less safe”.
He wrote to Sir Keir Starmer to resign from the position with “great regret and reluctance”, citing disagreements about defence spending ahead of the release of the delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP).
Healey said the prime minister has “been unable… to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country” and that he has “no other option” but to resign.
He added: “I am being forced to make a decision that would reduce the readiness of our Forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make the country less safe.”
Healey is the fourth Cabinet minister to leave Starmer’s government since coming to power – and the second to resign over policy differences after Wes Streeting quit as health secretary last month amid the fallout from Labour’s local election losses.
In his letter, Healey wrote: “This new era for defence required further investment through the Defence Investment Plan.
He added that “demands on defence have increased still further”, pointing to the Iran war, threats from Russia in the High North, and escalation in the Ukraine conflict.
Alistair Carns grew up in Scotland, went to a state school and joined the military at 19, working his way up to the rank of Colonel. He served and led during four tours in Afghanistan and was awarded the Military Cross in 2011 in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Afghanistan during the period 1 October 2010 to 31 March 2011.
From 2017, he served as an adviser to three UK Defence Secretaries. Recently, he served as Chief of Staff to the Commander of the UK Strike Force, where he was responsible for coordinating aircraft carriers and commando forces. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for exceptional operational service in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
He was elected as the Labour MP for Birmingham Selly Oak on 4 July 2024.
Carns was Minister for Veterans and People at the Ministry of Defence from 9 July 2024 to 6 September 2025. He was Minister for the Armed Forces from 6 September 2025 to 11 June 2026.
Carns likes to keep fit and is a devoted father to his two boys, daughter and his beloved red fox lab Maverick.
The DIP is expected to be published just ahead of the Nato summit on July 7.