Back in 2020, when Sir Keir Starmer was just getting going with his bid to lead Labour, I was casting around the party for his supporters. I wanted to know why they were backing a relatively new MP who, as far as I could work out, didn’t seem to stand for very much. Did they have any clearer idea?
One of those supporters was John Healey. He liked Starmer, he told me; not just as a friendly face he could enjoy a drink with, but as someone who was serious and clear-eyed about the challenges that Labour faced.
That last point has always been the most important thing for Healey, who is very much a party man – someone most concerned about how Labour can triumph, rather than give in to factional infighting. He is also not at all prone to drama or personal attacks – and yet, in his damning resignation letter, he offered plenty of both.
It was a far more damaging resignation than former health secretary Wes Streeting’s departure from government just two weeks ago. Although Healey has been touted by some as a potential leader, he doesn’t radiate personal ambition in the way Streeting always has – and is far more understated an operator.
So, when an intervention like this – which is anything but understated – is something Healey deems necessary, you know things really are very serious indeed. He was an early supporter of Starmer, but has now given up on that project. And he clearly thinks that the sooner it is over, the better, because otherwise he would have “quiet quit”, rather than doing something that undermines the very foundations of Starmer’s premiership.
