Starmer heads to the G7 summit as his defence plan lies in tatters

Sir Keir Starmer will head to Evian, France today to meet fellow world leaders at the G7 summit as he fights for his political survival in an increasingly hostile geopolitical landscape. Just days after defence secretary John Healey quit his post - accusing the prime minister of being “unwilling to commit the resources” needed to keep Britain safe - Sir Keir will now need to prove that he can still be a responsible global leader and a key player in the G7 as they attempt to navigate wars on two fronts. Meanwhile, with just days to go before the Makerfield by-election, the PM’s authority is more fragile than ever.

The stakes - both domestically and internationally - are the highest they’ve been since Labour’s general election landslide victory. The PM’s aim for the summit, which will see him come face to face with Donald Trump, is to deliver “growth and security at home”, his spokesperson said, as well as working towards resolutions in Iran and Ukraine.open image in galleryPreviously, it had been Starmer’s ability to manage international relations was his strength (AFP/Getty)Acknowledging that the world is "more dangerous today than it has ever been in our lifetime”, the spokesman said: "We are facing wars on two fronts, the rapid acceleration of technology and the deterioration of global order.

That is why it is vital that we work closely with our G7 partners to navigate and outpace the threats we face to keep people at home safe.” He added: "The prime minister is clear that is the only way to return peace to our continent and deter Russia from waging war again, is by boosting UK security for generations to come.”As it so often is, the prime minister’s pitch on the international stage is a strong one.

But the atmosphere as he heads to France is a far cry from last year’s summit, which took place in Canada exactly a year ago. When the PM headed out to Ottawa in 2025, Sir Keir Starmer was widely seen as the man who could salvage Nato’s relationship with the volatile Donald Trump. His ability to manage international relations and his image as a responsible adult on the world stage was, for a time, a key part of his pitch to voters in his attempt to fend off the threat from Nigel Farage - a man who the PM has repeatedly tried to paint as not being responsible enough to manage temperamental actors like the US president and volatile conflicts like those in Iran and Ukraine.

But Sir Keir’s own failure to commit enough money to defence - and the collapse of his MoD - has made a major dent in his image, just days before he will need to face up to Trump in person. With the US president piling pressure on world leaders to ramp up defence spending amid threats that he might pull out of Nato, the other G7 leaders have increasingly been expected to all pull together to increase their defensive capabilities. But the latest domestic drama in the UK has marked Britain as an outlier here.

open image in galleryDonald Trump has been piling pressure on international leaders to ramp up their defence spending (Reuters)Meanwhile, Sir Keir’s relationship with the US president has become increasingly fractious in recent months as a result of Britain’s refusal to be drawn into the Iran war. No doubt, the latest news about the defence investment plan will serve as yet more fuel for one of Trump’s increasingly frequent anti-Starmer diatribes. In previous months, when the prime minister had been struggling domestically, it was his ability to manage international relations that remained his strength.

But the question hanging over this G7 summit, is whether the PM will still be able to do that with a defence strategy that has been left in tatters. And if he can’t do that - he will struggle to persuade MPs that he should even be in charge at all. Join our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments