Exclusive: John Healey is poised to revive Britain’s bid to join an international banking scheme in order to boost defence spending, after his predecessor Rachel Reeves refused to back it. The new Chancellor quit as defence secretary last month over the failure of Reeves and the Treasury to find enough money to pay for rearmament - a move widely thought to have been the final straw that forced Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation. But The i Paper has learned that discussion about joining the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) – a Canadian-led scheme that helps member states finance defence projects at lower cost – took place within Andy Burnham’s transition team before he took office. Now Healey, who was Burnham’s surprise pick for Chancellor, is expected to pick up the baton after it emerged that he had privately pushed for the UK join the DSRB when he was defence secretary. A source familiar with the discussions said they expected the new Government to “move on it”. In his resignation letter Healey pointed to “credible ways” of raising extra money, including working multinationally – a reference widely read as pointing to the DSRB. Treasury officials at the time countered that Healey had never formally submitted a funding request for UK membership. The Chancellor is understood to have viewed the bank as a way to help close the defence funding gap while also benefiting British defence firms. liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/46594…
