Andy Burnham apology for Labour stance on Gaza: Is UK’s position shifting?

Andy Burnham, the Labour person wide seen arsenic the United Kingdom’s premier minister-in-waiting, has issued an apology for his party’s stance connected Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza and says helium volition summation unit connected Israel.

Burnham, the erstwhile Manchester Mayor who re-entered parliament successful June by winning a by-election successful the Makerfield constituency, said his enactment “didn’t get it right” connected the warfare connected Gaza and “needs to bash better” erstwhile helium is leader.

Although a leadership contest is theoretically nether mode successful the UK pursuing the resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer implicit dismal May predetermination results and his sinking popularity, nary 1 other has enactment themselves guardant for the race. Therefore, Burnham is expected to beryllium premier curate by the extremity of this month.

In a video connection posted connected societal media connected Thursday, helium said the “unbearable suffering” successful Gaza pursuing 2 years of relentless bombardment by Israeli forces is simply a “scar connected our corporate conscience”, but stopped abbreviated of calling Israel’s assaults connected occupied Palestinian territory a genocidal subject campaign.

Under Starmer, the Labour presumption connected Palestine has evolved, but the authorities has indicated its beardown enactment for Israel by proscribing the enactment radical Palestine Action arsenic a violent organisation past year, and by failing to prohibition each weapons income to Israel.

Do Burnham’s beardown remarks connected Israel’s warfare connected Gaza mean the UK authorities nether his enactment volition displacement its position?

Andy Burnham, British subordinate of parliament (MP) for Makerfield, delivers a code astatine the People’s History Museum successful Manchester, UK, June 29, 2026 [Temilade Adelaja/Reuters]

What did Andy Burnham accidental astir Gaza?

On Thursday, Burnham, 56, posted a video connected societal media arsenic portion of a question-and-answer bid successful which helium explains however helium intends to woody with circumstantial issues arsenic premier minister.

On Gaza, wherever much than 73,000 radical person been killed successful Israeli attacks since October 2023, including much than 1,000 since a expected “ceasefire” took effect, Burnham said: “The guiltless Palestinians, including children, proceed to beryllium killed. But there’s inactive a humanitarian situation with excessively small assistance getting in, and the Israeli subject continues to grow the country it controls successful Gaza.

“We’ve got to bash much to enactment unit connected the Israeli government.”

He reiterated his condemnation of the Hamas-led attacks connected Israel connected October 7, 2023, successful which much than 1,100 were killed, and “the summation successful appalling anti-Semitic attacks present successful the UK, and those who question to disagreement our communities by targeting Jewish people”.

“Many radical consciousness that astatine the commencement of Israel’s subject enactment successful Gaza, my enactment didn’t get it right. I americium atrocious astir that,” helium said, adding that “the UK was excessively dilatory to telephone for [a] ceasefire.

“The effect has excessively often not been bully enough. We request to bash better,” helium added.

He criticised the Israeli government’s repeated violations of the ceasefire statement successful Gaza, rising violence by Israeli settlers successful the West Bank and the enlargement of amerciable settlements.

“[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s authorities is intelligibly attempting to marque a two-state solution impossible,” Burnham added.

“I, similar galore people, consciousness passionately astir Gaza, and I volition bash everything I tin to enactment with planetary partners to support the imaginable of a two-state solution alive, due to the fact that this is the lone mode to lasting bid for some Israelis and Palestinians.”

People stitchery connected Whitehall during the National March for Palestine – Hands disconnected Gaza, a pro-Palestinian protestation calling for the authorities to “end the genocide and halt arming Israel”, successful London, UK, January 31, 2026 [Jack Taylor/Reuters]

What is the nationalist temper successful the UK implicit Palestine?

There is increasing home unit successful the UK, wherever an expanding fig of radical accidental the authorities has not done capable to halt the genocidal warfare connected Gaza and unit successful the West Bank.

A caller YouGov sentiment canvass commissioned by the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) recovered that 50 percent of the British nationalist judge Israel is committing genocide successful Gaza.

Only 17 percent said they judge it is not, portion one-third said they didn’t know.

The Labour Party is believed to person mislaid important enactment from near and progressive voters implicit its presumption connected occupied Palestinian territory.  A canvass for the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign past period reported that two-thirds of Labour voters who person subsequently switched to the Green Party were driven by the party’s presumption connected Gaza.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Patrick Diamond, a erstwhile elder argumentation advisor for the Labour government, said Burnham’s remarks are “an effort to placate those voters who defected from Labour implicit the Gaza issue”.

“There is nary uncertainty the contented has inflicted electoral harm connected Labour. Whether it leads to a substantive displacement successful UK overseas argumentation remains to beryllium seen,” Diamond told Al Jazeera.

What is the Labour Party’s presumption connected Gaza?

Labour’s contiguous effect to the events of October 7, 2023 was that Israel has the close to support itself. However, it was seen by galore arsenic dilatory to determination from that presumption arsenic the warfare connected Gaza continued.

Even earlier helium became premier curate successful a landslide predetermination successful 2024, Starmer gave a peculiarly damaging interrogation astir Israel’s warfare connected Gaza.

Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari, Starmer, past successful opposition, appeared to suggest that Israel had “the right” to withhold powerfulness and h2o from Palestinian civilians arsenic the warfare was ongoing.

He added: “Obviously everything should beryllium done wrong planetary law, but I don’t privation to measurement distant from the halfway principles that Israel has a close to support herself.”

His remarks prompted fury, including from wrong the Labour party, but it took much than a week for Starmer’s spokesperson to clarify them. In February 2024 – galore months aft the Israeli bombardment of Gaza began – Labour called for an contiguous humanitarian ceasefire successful Gaza for the archetypal time.

In the past, governmental opponents person repeatedly attacked Labour implicit its much accepted disapproval of Israel, particularly during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, a play overshadowed by allegations of anti-Semitism wrong the party.

To measurement retired of that shadow, analysts accidental Starmer has doubled down connected the alleged zero-tolerance attack to anti-Semitism and has struggled to abstracted that contented from the genocide successful Gaza.

Starmer’s stance shifted somewhat erstwhile the UK recognised the authorities of Palestine and imposed further sanctions connected Israeli settler individuals and entities.

However, past year, the UK authorities voted to proscribe Palestine Action arsenic a violent organisation, placing it into the aforesaid class of menace arsenic ISIL (ISIS) oregon al-Qaeda. This has led to accusations that the pro-Palestine statement is being squashed successful the UK.

The UK has besides made much than 3,000 arrests linked to enactment for Palestine Action since the prohibition was imposed connected the organisation successful July 2025.

Furthermore, the UK inactive sells weapons components to Israel.

The Starmer authorities announced lone a partial suspension of arms proviso successful September 2024, suspending 29 arms export licences portion astir 350 licences remained active.

An Al Jazeera investigation has shown that shipments recorded nether military-related customs codes, which are unrelated to craft parts, besides continued to participate Israel. Between October 2023 and October 2025, 28 consignments worthy 6.7 cardinal shekels ($1.8m) entered Israel – and the astir invaluable came good aft repeated UK calls for a ceasefire.

In February this year, a study from Oxfam said: “Since 2015, the UK has licensed astatine slightest 500 cardinal pounds ($671m) worthy of subject exports to Israel. There are besides a fig of further unfastened licences successful spot that the authorities does not publically study on, truthful the fig is apt to beryllium overmuch higher.”

According to Oxfam’s research, the UK chiefly sells subject components and dual-use items to Israel, notably supplying astir 15 percent of the parts for the F-35 stealth combatant jet, including ejector seats, targeting systems, and fuselage components.

In September 2024, the UK authorities recognised that UK arms were being utilized successful Gaza. As a result, it announced respective restrictions connected nonstop arms income to Israel.

“However, suspending a tiny proportionality of implicit 360 licences is not enough,” Oxfam said. “The authorities created a loophole for F-35 combatant jets. It has argued it volition proceed to indirectly proviso parts to Israel via the planetary programme led by the US – for reasons of planetary bid and security.”

Andy Burnham waves arsenic helium leaves with the politician of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, aft delivering a code successful Manchester, bluish England, connected June 29, 2026 [Toby Shepheard/AFP]

Is Burnham successful harm power mode?

Burnham has been perceived arsenic being up of Labour’s nationalist enactment successful his calls for a ceasefire successful Gaza. He has besides thrown his value down calls for the restrictions connected arms licences “to marque definite that nary British bombs oregon bullets tin beryllium utilized by the IDF (Israeli army) successful Gaza oregon successful the West Bank”, successful his latest statement.

Diamond, Labour’s erstwhile argumentation adviser, told Al Jazeera that “the archetypal mishandling of the contented [by Starmer] unquestionably caused problems, [whereby] Starmer was perceived to beryllium excessively unsympathetic to the radical of Gaza successful the aftermath of the Israeli subject assault.”

Tim Bale, a authorities prof astatine Queen Mary University of London, told Al Jazeera that Burnham is “trying to repair [the] damage, but his remarks are astir apt much symbolic than substantive”.

Bale added that “the UK is already astatine the borderline of what it’s apt to bash and accidental connected Israel.”

He added that the Labour enactment has “only conscionable recovered from the accusations of anti-Semitism that were swirling astir it during the Corbyn era”, adjacent arsenic Burnham “realises that Starmer’s archetypal effect to the Gaza situation outgo Labour a batch of enactment among some British Muslims and left-liberal voters”.

Under Burnham, the UK would request to ensure, Bale added, that “its criticisms of Netanyahu’s far-right authorities don’t suggest a weakening of its historical committedness to Israel’s close to exist”.

“It besides has to interest astir maintaining relations with a profoundly pro-Israel US administration,” the expert added.

Furthermore, Burnham has said helium volition name erstwhile Labour furniture curate James Purnell, who has antecedently supported Labour Friends of Israel, arsenic his main of staff.

Yossi Mekelberg, a elder consulting expert astatine Chatham House, a deliberation vessel successful London, argued that Burnham’s remarks are guided by a motivation compass alternatively than a governmental attack to addressing elector concerns.

Mekelberg told Al Jazeera that issues similar inflation, vigor security, and migration stay apical elector concerns, alternatively than the country’s stance connected Gaza, successful shaping upcoming elections.

People stitchery for the National March for Palestine – Hands disconnected Gaza, a pro-Palestinian protestation calling for the authorities to “end the genocide and halt arming Israel”, successful London, UK, connected January 31, 2026 [Jack Taylor/Reuters]

How overmuch is the UK apt to displacement successful its stance connected Gaza?

The UK has traditionally been 1 of Israel’s strongest allies. That presumption started shifting gradually aft London voted for a United Natopms Security Council solution calling for a impermanent ceasefire successful aboriginal 2024.

Burnham’s “acknowledgements and the sentiments that were expressed are evidently a measurement successful the close direction, recognising the misdirections and errors that the UK overseas argumentation had made”, said Tahani Mustafa, a visiting chap connected the Middle East and North Africa programme astatine the European Council connected Foreign Relations.

She added: “It is worthy being cautiously optimistic here, until those sentiments really get translated into tangible argumentation outcomes. At the moment, it appears thing much than conscionable platitudes up of the election. This could good beryllium conscionable governmental tact.”

Mustafa noted that Burnham had skirted calling Israel’s warfare connected Gaza a genocidal campaign, keeping a doorway ajar to “conveniently obfuscate Britain’s work nether planetary instrumentality to inflict immoderate accountability connected Israel done its commercialized and diplomatic relations”, however.

“These sentiments don’t truly explicit a important displacement successful that direction,” she added.

Mustafa concluded that if Burnham does marque efforts towards pushing for superior accountability against Israel, indicating that it cannot bash what it wants without repercussions, “it would beryllium a immense milestone that could pb to different states pursuing suit.”