Burnham apologises for Labour’s Gaza stance, signals policy shift
7 reported
Andy Burnham has apologised for Labour’s initial response to Israel’s military action in Gaza, stating the party “didn’t get it right” and needs to “do better” under his leadership. In an interview with the Guardian, the prime minister-in-waiting said he would put more pressure on the Israeli government, including through further sanctions and potentially banning trade in goods with illegal settlements. Burnham acknowledged the UK was “too slow to call for a ceasefire” and said the government must now strengthen its approach. He stopped short of describing events in Gaza as a genocide, saying that while there is “increasing evidence” of war crimes, it is for international courts to determine. Burnham also criticised settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and said the Netanyahu government is attempting to make a two-state solution impossible. He sought to reassure Jewish communities that he remains concerned about antisemitism and “strongly condemned” Hamas’s 7 October attacks.
What’s reported
Burnham apologised for Labour’s initial response to Israel’s military action in Gaza, saying the party “didn’t get it right.”
He said the UK was “too slow to call for a ceasefire” and must do more to put pressure on the Israeli government.
Burnham supports further sanctions on individuals and entities, and potentially banning trade in goods with illegal settlements.
He said there is “increasing evidence” that war crimes appear to have been committed in Gaza, but that it is for international courts to determine.
Burnham “strongly condemned” Hamas’s 7 October attacks and said he takes a “zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism.”
He criticised the large increase in settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the expansion of illegal settlements.
An Opinium poll for the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign in June found that two-thirds of Labour voters who switched to the Green party cited Gaza as a factor.
Key figures
Andy Burnham, prime minister-in-waiting
Keir Starmer, Labour leader
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister
Shabana Mahmood, UK government minister
Sources: The Guardian
