Andy Burnham rules out Green Party partnership over Zionism motion
Andy Burnham has ruled out a partnership with the Green Party while it holds that Zionism is racism, condemning the conference motion as wrong and anti-Semitic.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out a partnership with the Green Party while the party holds the position that Zionism is racism. He made the commitment at Prime Minister's Questions after being asked whether he condemned the motion passed at the Greens' recent party conference.
The motion declared Zionism, the belief that Jewish people should have their own homeland, to be racism. Burnham condemned it in clear terms. He said: 'Can I condemn the motion that was passed unequivocally? It is wrong. It is anti-Semitic. This side of the House will have nothing to do with it.' He added: 'We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds a position that has recently been adopted.'
The question came from Conservative MP Harriett Baldwin. Burnham was also pressed by Kemi Badenoch on other policy areas, including North Sea oil and gas, but the Green Party commitment was the clearest new position of the session.
The political context is a possible hung parliament. Polls suggest no party would win enough seats for a majority if an election were held now, which raises the prospect of deals between parties. Burnham has been trying to change the voting system, a move that would make such partnerships more likely. Green Party splits over the conference motion have been widely reported and may have damaged those prospects.
The Green Party responded later. It released a statement acknowledging the controversy the motion has caused, but said it was disappointing and wrong for Andy Burnham to conflate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. Four out of five Green MPs have said publicly that they do not support the motion.
Downing Street did not settle all the details. The Prime Minister's spokesperson would not confirm whether the no partnership principle would apply at a local level, where Labour and the Greens already work together on councils. It was also unclear whether Burnham would change his mind if the Green Party dropped the policy. Earlier reporting said he had left the door open to changing his position if that happened.
Burnham is due to visit Scotland later this week, as First Minister John Swinney prepares for the SNP conference in Aberdeen. Swinney has predicted that Burnham could become the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with nationalist governments now leading all the devolved parliaments. At the same session, Burnham avoided criticising President Trump over plans to import diesel from Russia, saying his role was to repair bridges between the United States and Ukraine, and expressing solidarity with President Zelensky.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | |||
| Andy Burnham ruled out a pact with the Green Party if Labour does not win a majority, but left open a partnership if the Greens drop their policy declaring Zionism is racism. | Not reported by Channel 4 | ||
| Only on one channel | |||
| Andy Burnham described a Green Party conference motion that declared Zionism is racism as wrong and anti-Semitic. | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Conservative MP Harriett Baldwin asked Andy Burnham whether he condemned the Green Party policy that describes Zionism as racism. | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Polls indicated a hung parliament, and Burnham's proposed voting system change could encourage deals, though Green splits might reduce those chances. | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |
| The Green Party said Andy Burnham was wrong to conflate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism, calling it disappointing and wrong. | Not reported by Channel 4 | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The Prime Minister rejected the possibility of a future Labour-Green Party coalition. | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The Prime Minister's spokesperson would not confirm whether the principle would apply at local level. | Not reported by Channel 4 | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The SNP leader suggested Andy Burnham might become the UK's final Prime Minister. | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV's lunchtime bulletin framed the move as a clear answer in a session often short of them, tied to electoral arithmetic and the comparison with Kemi Badenoch ruling out Reform. It reported that Burnham left the door open to changing his position if the Greens drop the policy, while also covering his response to Trump and Zelensky.
- “It was wrong It is anti-semitic and this side of the house will have nothing to do with it”
- “We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds a position that has recently been adopted”
- “he did leave the door open to changing that if that policy is dropped”
The evening bulletin emphasised that Burnham had gone much further than in an interview the previous week, when he called the motion a terrible judgement but would not rule out a future coalition. It also highlighted Downing Street's refusal to clarify local council arrangements and the Green Party's formal response.
- “It is wrong, it is anti-Semitic, and this side of the House will have nothing to do with it”
- “We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds a position that has recently been adopted.”
- “The Green Party has released a statement this afternoon acknowledging the controversy it has caused, but saying that for Andy Burnham to conflate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism is disappointing and wrong.”
Channel 4 gave a concise parliamentary report, naming Conservative MP Harriett Baldwin as the questioner and carrying Burnham's condemnation in full. Its distinctive angle was the planned Burnham trip to Scotland and the SNP's claim that he could be the last UK Prime Minister, with no mention of the Green Party's response or local council questions.
- “Mr Speaker, can I condemn the motion that was passed unequivocally? It is wrong. It is anti-Semitic. This side of the House will have nothing to do with it.”
- “We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds a position that has recently been adopted.”
- “It comes after the SNP leader predicted that Andy Burnham could become the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom”
Sky treated the move as a first and a significant shift, noting that Burnham and cabinet ministers had previously avoided ruling out a deal with Zack Polanski's Greens. Its report set the decision against a hung parliament and Burnham's voting reform plans, while the studio discussion focused on his looser, more candid political style and other flashpoints such as North Sea oil and gas.
- “For the first time, Andy Burnham has just ruled out any kind of deal with the Green Party after they passed a policy that Zionism is racism.”
- “We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds a position that has recently been adopted.”
- “This matters because polls point to a hung parliament and Andy Burnham is trying to change the voting system, which would encourage deals between parties, but splits in the Green Party laid bare at their conference seem to have hurt those chances.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.