British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday rejected the idea that he had lost authority in his role, and said he would fight to keep his job, adding that anyone who wanted to replace him would have to deal with the same financial constraints.
The comments come a day after defence minister John Healey delivered a fresh blow to the prime minister's already weakened leadership by quitting and accusing Starmer of being unable to commit the resources needed to keep the country safe, in a dig at the authority the PM has over his ministers.
"I'm not going to walk away," Starmer told the BBC, making his first public comments since Healey's shock resignation.
With rivals expected to launch a contest to replace him in the coming weeks or months, Starmer said he would fight any challenge to his role.
"Let me just be clear with you, that's not about personal vanity, it's not about stubbornness, it's out of a very deep sense of duty. I was elected to serve this country, notwithstanding the difficult circumstances. That is what I am doing," he said.
Starmer rejected Healey's criticism, saying defence and security were his top priorities and would remain so every time the government had to make spending decisions in the future.
He said he had already made "hard-edged" choices to cut other departments' budgets in order to put more money towards defence investment.
"Whoever is prime minister is going to face the same prevailing winds as I am facing. None of that is going to change," Starmer said.
Meanwhile, Starmer admitted he has "got to turn things around" if he is going to remain as prime minister and lead his Labour Party into the next general election.
His fragile authority has suffered a further blow with the resignation of defence secretary John Healey and armed forces minister Al Carns over long-delayed defence investment plan (Dip) on Thursday.
Starmer insisted defence spending was a priority and he had taken the 'difficult decisions' necessary to keep the country safe. The timing of the resignations of Healey and Carns, along with two ministerial aides, comes at a moment of peril for Starmer whose premiership has looked precarious since May's election results across England, Wales and Scotland.
Andy Burnham hopes to return to Westminster in next week's Makerfield by-election and has made no secret of his leadership ambitions, while former health secretary Wes Streeting will also run in any contest.
Starmer said: "I don't think we should plunge the country into the chaos of a leadership election", but told the BBC he would fight any challenge. Asked if he would lead Labour into the next general election,expected in 2029, he said: "Well, that's what I want to do. "I recognise that I've got to turn things around. We had a very bad set of elections." - AFP/dpa
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