Grassroots Labour groups are preparing to challenge Prime Minister Andy Burnham at his first Labour conference as leader next month, demanding he recognise Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide and impose a full arms embargo. The move comes as party members seek to force a break with the previous leadership's stance on Palestine.
Momentum and allies push model motion
Momentum, Labour & Palestine, the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy, and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) are circulating a model motion for Labour members to submit to conference. The motion demands the government accept the findings of a UN commission of inquiry that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, and impose “comprehensive sanctions”, including a full arms embargo.
The motion also calls on ministers to ban trade that “aids or assists” Israel's military actions in Gaza or its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territories, including trade with Israeli settlements.
Burnham's apology and refusal to use 'genocide'
Burnham has apologised for Labour's handling of Gaza under Keir Starmer's leadership, saying the party had “not got it right”. However, he has stopped short of using the term genocide, citing the role of international courts. In an interview weeks before becoming prime minister, Burnham told the Guardian: “We've got to do more to put pressure on the Israeli government … let's be honest, the UK was too slow to call for a ceasefire. And we must now do more to strengthen our approach.”
His refusal to use the term has frustrated many Labour MPs, not just those on the left. Several MPs told the Guardian they welcomed the apology but wanted him to explicitly “acknowledge Israel's actions in Gaza as a genocide”.
Conference motions and growing pressure
At the 2025 party conference, Labour sought to rule out motions on Palestine being debated, triggering accusations of stifling debate. About 30 motions from local parties were struck off last September. However, conference delegates backed an emergency motion proposed by the Unison union, urging the government to “employ all means reasonably available to it to prevent the commission of genocide in Gaza” and “fully suspend the arms trade with Israel and the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement”.
The grassroots groups are now seeking to force the issue back onto the conference floor, presenting it as an early test of Burnham's promise not to “stifle debate”. Momentum is launching a petition aimed at current and former Labour members and voters, urging the prime minister to stick to the position backed by delegates last year.
Pressure is also mounting from outside the party. More than 100 British and French former diplomats wrote to Burnham and Emmanuel Macron urging tough action against Israel, including suspending arms transfers. Emily Thornberry this week said Britain should ban imports from the occupied West Bank amid concern over Israeli settlement expansion.
Electoral stakes and reactions
Labour is hoping to win back progressive voters who deserted the party under Starmer. Polling commissioned by PSC and Friends of the Earth this summer found that 67% of voters who switched from Labour to the Greens cited Palestine as a factor in their decision to leave.
Sasha Das Gupta, co-chair of Momentum, said: “Burnham must not allow the same failures that alienated voters under Starmer to continue. He must listen to the majority of the labour movement and take decisive action on Gaza.”
Dan Iley-Williamson, a political organiser at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: “Burnham's apology for Labour's previous stance on Palestine will mean nothing if his government doesn't decisively break with Keir Starmer's complicity in Israel's crimes. Burnham could use this Labour conference to show the country he will make this break with Starmer. If he doesn't, he risks the same fate: plummeting support and a legacy of infamy.”
