Shortly after Andy Burnham telephoned a number of Keir Starmer's allies to sack them from the cabinet on Monday afternoon, John Healey received the signal to head to Number 10. Wearing a suit and one of his many red ties, the former defence secretary left parliament alone via a back entrance next to a pub. "I'm on my way to a meeting," he said with a slight smile as he marched down Whitehall. Five weeks earlier Healey had weakened Keir Starmer's grip on Downing Street by quitting as defence secretary in a row over military spending. Soon he would be back around the cabinet table alongside two others whose recent resignations had also damaged Starmer - new defence secretary Wes Streeting and new energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh.