Andy Burnham, the man about to become Britain’s next prime minister, has done something his predecessor never did: apologized for Labour’s response to the war in Gaza.
In a video posted to social media on July 9, Burnham said the party “didn’t get it right” at the start of Israel’s military operations, and that its response “has too often not been good enough.”
“I know many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my party didn’t get it right, and I am sorry about that,” he said. “We need to do better.”
The apology is a political necessity. Labour under Keir Starmer hemorrhaged support over Gaza, losing younger voters and progressive members to the Green Party and independents. Starmer’s initial refusal to call for a ceasefire, followed by grudging shifts, left lasting damage. Polls showed Labour at record-low support by the time he stepped down.
Burnham is trying to win those voters back, and he is signaling a clearer break than most expected.
He said a government under his leadership would go further than Starmer’s: “looking at further sanctions, both on those involved in the violence in Gaza, but also looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements.” He described the destruction of Gaza as “a scar on our collective conscience.”
But he stopped short of calling Israel’s actions a genocide, saying there is “increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed” but that it is ultimately a matter for international courts. Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali called this evasion: “If you asked Andy Burnham whether Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine, he’d say yes.”
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, speaking at a Chatham House conference on the same day, said the government was already “looking at what more we can do” on sanctions and trade restrictions with illegal settlements. Trade minister Sir Chris Bryant confirmed the government is “actively considering” a ban on trade with settlement goods, though he noted challenges in determining their origin.
The shift matters. Britain recognized a Palestinian state in September 2025 under Starmer, and imposed restrictions on arms exports to Israel. But the public posture remained cautious. Burnham’s apology, direct, personal, and delivered on video, signals that the caution is ending.
The question is whether it is enough. Aid groups welcomed the words but demanded action: a full arms embargo, a suspension of the UK-Israel trade agreement, and an immediate ban on settlement trade. Burnham has not committed to any of those yet. For voters who left Labour over Gaza, an apology is a start. Whether it is sufficient will depend on what comes next.