Andy Burnham apology for Labour stance on Gaza: Is UK’s position shifting?
Likely incoming UK PM hints at policy shifts towards Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. But analysts are wary. Andy Burnham, the Labour politician widely seen
Likely incoming UK PM hints at policy shifts towards Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. But analysts are wary. Andy Burnham, the Labour politician widely seen as the United Kingdom’s prime minister-in-waiting, has issued an apology for his party’s stance on Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and says he will increase pressure on Israel. Burnham, the former Manchester Mayor who re-entered parliament in June by winning a by-election in the Makerfield constituency, said his party “didn’t get it right” on the war on Gaza and “needs to do better” once he is leader. Although a leadership contest is theoretically under way in the UK following the resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer over dismal May election results and his sinking popularity, no one else has put themselves forward for the race. Therefore, Burnham is expected to be prime minister by the end of this month. In a video message posted on social media on Thursday, he said the “unbearable suffering” in Gaza following two years of relentless bombardment by Israeli forces is a “scar on our collective conscience”, but stopped short of calling Israel’s assaults on occupied Palestinian territory a genocidal military campaign. Under Starmer, the Labour position on Palestine has evolved, but the government has indicated its strong support for Israel by proscribing the action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation last year, and by failing to ban all weapons sales to Israel. Do Burnham’s strong remarks on Israel’s war on Gaza mean the UK government under his leadership will shift its position? What did Andy Burnham say about Gaza? On Thursday, Burnham, 56, posted a video on social media as part of a question-and-answer series in which he explains how he intends to deal with specific issues as prime minister. On Gaza, where more than 73,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023, including more than 1,000 since a supposed “ceasefire” took effect, Burnham said: “The innocent Palestinians, including children, continue to be killed. But there’s still a humanitarian crisis with too little aid getting in, and the Israeli military continues to expand the area it controls in Gaza. “We’ve got to do more to put pressure on the Israeli government.” He reiterated his condemnation of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which more than 1,100 were killed, and “the increase in appalling anti-Semitic attacks here in the UK, and those who seek to divide our communities by targeting Jewish people”. “Many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my party didn’t get it right. I am sorry about that,” he said, adding that “the UK was too slow to call for [a] ceasefire. “The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better,” he added. He criticised the Israeli government’s repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, rising violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and the expansion of illegal settlements.
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