Burnham apologises for Labour’s initial response to Gaza war

Andy Burnham has apologised for Labour’s early response to the Gaza conflict, admitting the party got it wrong in the crucial weeks after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. The Greater Manchester Mayor’s remarks represent one of the most candid admissions yet from a senior Labour figure about a period that badly damaged the party’s standing with Muslim voters across Britain.

What Burnham said

Speaking at a public event in Manchester, Burnham said the party’s initial position had been “a real failure” and that he was sorry for the confusion and hurt it caused. He didn’t hold back. “People needed clarity and they didn’t get it,” he said. “I think we have to be honest about that.”

Burnham was among a group of Labour figures who broke with Sir Keir Starmer by publicly calling for a ceasefire in late October 2023 — just weeks after the attacks that killed around 1,200 Israelis and triggered Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Starmer had resisted that language at the time, insisting Israel had the right to defend itself, a position that sparked fierce internal tensions and protests outside Labour offices.

The political cost

The fallout was significant. At the 2024 general election, Labour lost four seats to independent candidates who had campaigned primarily on Gaza, including in Dewsbury and Batley, Blackburn, and Birmingham Perry Barr. Several other constituencies saw Labour’s majority slashed to single figures.

That’s the backdrop against which Burnham is now speaking — and some in the party believe he’s positioning himself carefully ahead of a potential future leadership run, though allies reject that reading.

Still, the timing matters. With more than 45,000 Palestinians reported killed in Gaza according to the Hamas-run health ministry — figures that are widely cited by UN agencies — pressure on Western governments and political parties has not eased. If anything, it’s intensified.

A divided party

Labour’s internal arguments over Gaza never fully went away. Shadow ministers resigned, WhatsApp groups leaked, and constituency parties passed motions that directly contradicted the leadership’s line. Burnham, who commands considerable authority in the north of England, was seen at the time as lending weight to the rebel camp.

A senior Labour source said the party had “learned lessons” from that period but declined to say whether Starmer himself would issue a similar apology.

But that silence may itself be telling.

What comes next

Burnham has not signalled any imminent return to Westminster politics, and his term as Greater Manchester Mayor runs until 2028. Yet his willingness to revisit this chapter — and put his name to an apology — suggests the reckoning inside Labour over Gaza is far from finished.

With a ceasefire in Gaza still fragile and humanitarian conditions on the ground described by aid agencies as catastrophic, the political debate in Britain won’t be going quiet any time soon. For Labour, the question is whether an apology is enough — or just the beginning of a longer conversation it has been avoiding.