The Conservatives have demanded Chancellor John Healey resign unless Wednesday’s Budget fully funds his own target of spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030. Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith issued the demand on Saturday, ahead of Healey’s first Budget, saying the Chancellor must set out how the target he set himself will be reached.

The target and the row behind it

Healey had called for defence spending to rise to 3% by 2030, and quit as defence secretary in June after the then prime minister refused to commit to a substantial rise. Griffith said: “By the end of his Budget statement, John Healey must have fully funded 3 per cent defence spending, or resign.” He accused the Chancellor of dithering over funding what he called the country’s insurance premium, while the Conservatives say they would fund defence by cutting benefits.

What the Budget is expected to contain

Healey is expected to unveil billions of pounds of new defence funding in Wednesday’s statement, including money for two large investment funds that would then invest in UK defence companies, including drone manufacturers. The UK currently spends around 2.6% of GDP on defence, and has signed up to the NATO target of 3.5% by 2035. Griffith said Healey had promised to lay out a path to his target at the 2027 spending review, and that the Budget must go further than that promise.

Why it matters

The row puts the Chancellor’s own record at the centre of Budget week. Healey set the 3% target himself, resigned over it once, and now has to fund it from the Treasury — while the opposition claims any failure should cost him his job.