Starmer and Reeves launch delayed defence plan with a sense of resigned relief

New defence secretary goes along with £1.5bn addition to spending plan that led to his predecessor’s resignation and Starmer’s in turn

• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/30/defence-investment-plan-keir-starmer-labour">Starmer warns Burnham not to borrow to fund defence as he reveals £15bn plan

There was an air of melancholy as https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/30/defence-investment-plan-keir-starmer-labour">the defence investment plan (Dip) was announced at Malloy Aeronautics in Maidenhead.

A sense that the main figures were fading out of history even as the legacy was being written, as if the event were sepia-tinted.

The Dip was supposed to be Keir Starmer’s lasting bequest to the country.

His gift to an ungrateful nation.

And if it is to be his swansong, it couldn’t be more Keir if it tried: something that manages not to satisfy any of the major players involved – the military, nor our allies – and probably not even Keir himself.

The story of his time in government.