Chancellor Healey will be under pressure to deliver for armed forces

Chancellor Healey will be under pressure to deliver for armed forcesImage source, PA MediaImage caption, In his previous role as defence secretary, Healey was vocal in his support of increased military spendingByJonathan Beale Defence correspondentPublished4 minutes agoJohn Healey as chancellor will now have to deliver on what John Healey as the former defence secretary said the Treasury failed to do - properly fund Britian's armed forces.When he resigned from Sir Keir Starmer's government last month he accused the Treasury of being "unwilling" to properly fund the Defence Investment Plan (DIP). This was supposed to set out details of defence spending to modernise the military and reverse what he had called "the hollowing out" of the armed forces. The DIP's publication had been delayed by nearly a year as Healey wrestled with the Treasury and No 10 to fund the plans. He didn't get anywhere near what he said was needed.Who's in Andy Burnham's cabinet?Published20 minutes agoHealey seen as 'safe pair of hands' as he is appointed chancellorPublished1 hour agoKey takeaways as Andy Burnham becomes PMPublished1 hour agoWhen Healey resigned last month, he had been offered only an extra £13.5bn - what amounted to a 0.08% increase in the defence budget. At the time he made clear that was not enough to keep the country safe and to meet rising threats. Those close to him said in reality the offer amounted only to an extra £10bn, with the rest what they called "Treasury Trickery".Healey's resignation letter also expressed his frustration that the government had no clear timetable to meet its promise of increasing the UK's defence spending to 3% of GDP. He wanted to reach that target by 2030, the year when many in Nato have said the alliance must be ready for conflict. But under Sir Keir, the 3% pledge remained vague - some time in the next parliament. A further Nato pledge to increase defence spendin...