Melvyn Bragg on his friend David Hockney thetimes.com/culture/art/art…

A year after the Strategic Defence Review was agreed, the UK government has decided not to fund its own review. In doing so, it is not merely failing to move forward — it is actively going backwards. chathamhouse.org/2026/06/joh…

900 new Christians in @leicestercofe 52% UKME/GMH

There are some brutal briefings about Keir Starmer in the wake of John Healey’s resignation today This one - from a Treasury official - stands out in our splash “As always with the prime minister, he is unable to make sound political and timely decisions “Funding the defence investment plan requires cuts to elements of government spending vital to growth - a key issue obviously this country needs to work on “This was flagged to No 10 in May and as usual he is a rabbit in the headlights and does not make a decision “Prioritise growth funding or defence spending - take a decision” thetimes.com/article/ed817bc…

NEW: Bloomberg Saturday read — Andy Burnham is planning to move quickly after Makerfield to secure a coronation. His supporters think John Healey’s resignation kills off Keir Starmer’s chances of survival. They think Wes Streeting and Al Carns don’t have the numbers, and that Burnham can quickly get 250 Labour MPs and most of the cabinet to back him. — Starmer insists he’ll fight, but the question is what the cabinet does. Burnham’s supporters want them to tell the PM to agree a handover. Before Healey resigned, Starmer’s allies hoped he could battle on because most of the cabinet would back him to stay. Aides suggest the calculus is changing and Healey’s brutal exit makes it more likely they tell Starmer it’s over. — Even Starmer loyalists are very critical of the PM. They wish he’d been bolder, found the defence money from welfare, net zero or elsewhere, and sacked Ed Miliband. Several allies say they can’t believe Miliband and Shabana Mahmood (who they say privately plotted with Burnham and Miliband to oust Starmer) are still in the cabinet, but Healey isn’t. One says that’s the final evidence of his lack of authority, political judgment and decision-making ability. — Starmer’s relationship with Rachel Reeves has been tested to the limit. Her resistance led Starmer to renege on his Munich speech and overrule Healey and Jonathan Powell. She effectively buried his survival strategy of focusing on security. Reeves allies argue it’s her job to make the numbers add up and if Starmer wanted more money for defence he could have imposed more departmental cuts but was unwilling. — Burnham will not keep Reeves on as his chancellor, despite her allies pitching her to stay. Reappointing her would not be the change he’s promising, one Burnham supporter says. They say they spoke to Reeves around the locals and came away believing she would help them persuade Starmer to go, but she didn’t follow through. — The turmoil is rattling UK allies. European diplomats contacted British counterparts in recent days complaining about the uncertainty over the UK’s defence spending plans, the slow pace of the uplift and Healey’s departure. They’ve also asked for information about Burnham’s plans for foreign policy and defence but got no answer. — If Burnham does become PM he’ll face the same problems. His critics say he’s never uttered a word of substance on defence or foreign policy, shows no interest in it and has no plan. It is not impossible that in the next few months the British PM has to join negotiations with Putin over Ukraine. “Can you imagine Burnham doing that?” asks one official, especially with Powell likely to leave with Starmer. — Starmer’s chaos also distracted from what might otherwise have been a bad week for Burnham. He got away with his WASPI gaffe thanks to Healey. Labour MPs are also critical of his plans on immigration. One aide said his proposal to end asylum hotel contracts and move responsibility for housing migrants to local authorities is amateurish and toxic. — It all leaves Labour MPs in a state of total despair. Starmer looks finished but Burnham has no obvious plan and keeps making basic mistakes that foreshadow another troubled premiership, one said. If Burnham loses Makerfield, Labour appears to have no other options. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

💥A senior military source tells @thetimes that Starmer's defence funding offer will “undermine our ability to lead in any alliance from Nato to the JEF [Joint Expeditionary Force]”. The source said of the chaos over defence spending: “It does considerable damage. We are now one of the lowest defence spenders in Nato, a 180 [degree-turn] from the historic trend to the UK being the highest per capita European defence spender. The influence we once had with nations looking to us as the example is over.” thetimes.com/uk/defence/arti…

Gut wrenching to see four young people jailed for direct action against an arms supplier to Israel. Years in prison for protesting to save lives in Gaza, with 'terrorism' used despite no jury convicting them of it. A truly dangerous attack on the right to protest.

But McSweeney’s resignation days before Munich meant Healey lost an influential voice in favor of defence spending in No10 the Treasury was able to dig its heels in over the months that followed Though Starmer was supportive of Healey’s position, he couldn’t sway the Treasury

John Healey has accused Sir Keir Starmer of only offering a 0.08 per cent increase in defence spending by 2030. In his resignation letter, published on Thursday lunchtime, the outgoing defence secretary said Sir Keir’s defence investment plan “falls well short of what is required” at a dangerous time for Britain. Mr Healey said: “As we have regularly discussed, I am certain that a headmark date for 3 per cent of GDP on defence in 2030 is what Britain must set. This commitment would have strong cross-party support. Other European allies are stepping up in this way.” He added: “Your DIP financial settlement – which I was first given in full on Monday afternoon this week – falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time. “The extra support is backloaded when the pressure of operations and imperative to speed up readiness to fight is in the first two years and it rises to just 2.68 per cent of GDP in 2030, when we will reach 2.6 per cent next year with the investment we are already making.”

A prayer for the World Cup 2026. ⚽