Why Starmer's defence plan leaves next PM with £4.7bn headache

When Healey resigned earlier this month, his allies had claimed that "Treasury trickery" had in effect inflated the money that appeared to be attached to the investment plan. Buried within that plan today were numbers that are likely to cause Sir Keir's successor as prime minister a headache. It contained confirmation from the Treasury that only £10.3bn of the £15bn that's been committed has actually been identified. The remaining £4.7bn would have to be found at the next Budget, due in the autumn. That's a task likely to fall to Andy Burnham and whoever he picks as his chancellor. Today's investment plan also relies on £10.7bn of "defence efficiencies" being found by 2030, with little detail about how that would be achieved. And there's an assumption that defence will be a key priority at the next spending review, which potentially means further cuts in other government departments. That raises a question about the priorities of Burnham if he becomes prime minister next month, as expected. He's understood to have held constructive talks with Healey about defence spending, but even some of those close to Burnham admit they know little about his philosophy on the topic. When he outlined his vision for Downing Street yesterday, there was not much talk of bombs and bullets. Jarvis told BBC Newsnight that he had discussed the investment plan with Burnham, but it's understood he couldn't be briefed on certain security issues and did not sign off the full thing. …