Burnham says Labour cannot support Green partnership after Zionism motion

Andy Burnham said at PMQs on Wednesday 14 October that Labour could not support a partnership with the Green Party of England and Wales while it held its newly adopted position on Zionism. Labour already governs alongside the Greens on some local councils, and Downing Street has not clarified whether those arrangements are covered.

What Burnham said about a Labour–Green partnership

Burnham made the statement after Conservative MP Harriett Baldwin urged him to rule out cooperation with the Greens. He called the party’s conference motion wrong and antisemitic, and said Labour could not support a partnership with a party holding the position the Greens had adopted. His answer addressed the party’s policy rather than identifying a particular proposed agreement.

The Evening Standard described the answer as a hardening of Burnham’s position. During a visit to Berlin on 8 October, he had urged Green leaders to reverse the policy but declined to rule out a future coalition. His PMQs statement therefore went further than his earlier call for the Greens to reconsider the motion.

What the Green Party motion says

Green members adopted the motion at their annual conference earlier in October. It defines Zionism as a form of racism. The BBC quoted its description of Zionism as an ideology supporting an ethnonationalist Jewish state in historic Palestine to the exclusion or domination of the non-Jewish population. Politico reported that the motion also backed a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine.

The decision exposed differences among prominent Greens. The BBC reported criticism of the motion from four Green MPs and two former leaders. Politico identified former leaders Caroline Lucas and Adrian Ramsay, Westminster leader Ellie Chowns and Green leader Zack Polanski among its opponents, while co-deputy leader Mothin Ali supported it.

Polanski said he would not have supported the motion, according to Politico, but did not vote because he was campaigning in a by-election. The BBC reported that he called the text imperfect and said he had wanted it amended. He also defended a substantial part of its argument about a racist ideology underpinning the displacement and genocide of Palestinians. Israel has repeatedly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide, the BBC noted.

After the vote, Polanski, the party’s co-deputy leaders and Green MPs said the party would not tolerate discrimination or harassment, Politico reported. They also said Palestinian rights did not conflict with Jewish people’s rights. Those assurances form part of the Greens’ response to criticism, even as party figures disagree over the wording and adoption of the motion itself.

What Burnham’s position means for local councils

The BBC reported that Labour is in coalition with the Greens on some local councils, including Sheffield. That makes the scope of Burnham’s words consequential for existing partnerships as well as any discussion of national cooperation. A Downing Street spokesman would not confirm to the BBC whether the position applied to local areas or only national government. Politico likewise reported that a Labour official could not immediately clarify its implications for local government.