As Keir Starmer announces his resignation and Andy Burnham emerges as the clear frontrunner to replace him, scrutiny is growing over where Britain’s likely next prime minister stands on Israel, Gaza, and the Middle East; a record that is more complex, and more contested, than either side tends to admit.
Keir Starmer stood outside 10 Downing Street on the morning of Monday 22 June 2026 and announced he would step down as Prime Minister and Labour Party leader. “The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” he said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.”
Within hours, Andy Burnham confirmed he would seek to replace the departing leader; Wes Streeting, once considered Burnham’s most likely rival, backed his bid instead. Burnham is now the runaway favourite to become Britain’s next prime minister, likely entering Downing Street in July or August.
With that prospect comes immediate scrutiny of his foreign policy record; and no issue is more politically charged right now than Israel and Palestine.
A long record, pulled in both directions
Burnham’s record on Israel-Palestine combines long-standing support for a two-state solution, past membership of both Labour Friends of Israel and contacts with pro-Palestine groups, repeated calls for humanitarian relief and ceasefires during the 2023-24 Gaza war, and a refusal to label Israeli actions in Gaza as “genocide” while urging investigation and accountability.
That combination has left observers across the political spectrum frustrated in different directions.
During the 2015 Labour leadership contest, Burnham described the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement as “spiteful” and said his first overseas visit as leader would be to Israel. In the same contest, he also criticised the “lack of progress” of the Middle East peace process and denounced illegal Israeli settlements; two positions that do not sit easily alongside each other, and which reflect a pattern that has defined his approach ever since.
After October 7
After the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023, Burnham condemned what he called “barbaric” and “appalling” attacks and stated his belief in Israel’s “right to defend itself and protect its civilians.”
Two weeks later, his position shifted meaningfully. On 27 October 2023, Burnham; along with Greater Manchester’s deputy mayor and local councillors; released a statement calling for a ceasefire at a time when hostages were still being held by Hamas. He was one of the first senior Labour figures to do so, alongside London Mayor Sadiq Khan; this was months before Starmer, who had been fiercely resisting pressure within the party to roll back his support for Israel, eventually joined them.
That early ceasefire call drew criticism from parts of the Jewish community. Mark Adlestone, chair of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region, acknowledged Burnham’s longstanding partnership with local Jewish organisations but cited the ceasefire call; made while hostages remained in captivity; as an example of friction between them.
The genocide question
The most politically sensitive point in Burnham’s recent record is his refusal to describe Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as genocide. Asked about the violence in an interview with the Guardian, he said: “I can’t judge things of that enormity from where I am as mayor of Greater Manchester,” adding that he had “concerns about the disproportionate nature of what has happened” and calling for “a full process of investigation and accountability.”
The International Association of Genocide Scholars has declared that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Burnham has not gone that far; a position that has drawn fire from the left while being viewed as legally cautious by others within Labour.
Where the Jewish community stands
Burnham has a long history of calling out antisemitism, particularly within his own party. In January 2026, he attended a Holocaust Memorial Day service with the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region, where he reaffirmed his commitment to standing against anti-Jewish racism.
In a recent interview, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy described Burnham as a “great ally” in the fight against antisemitism and someone who will stand with the Jewish community “always.”
Jewish Labour figures including peer Luciana Berger and Courts Minister Sarah Sackman actively campaigned for Burnham in the Makerfield by-election. At the same time, the Jewish Labour Movement is understood to have written to Burnham after he appeared to call for the return of at least two figures who left the party amid controversy over antisemitism and their stance on Palestine; some Jewish Labour figures are now anxious for clarification on where he will stand.
What comes next
Sources close to Burnham have confirmed he was deliberately reticent to discuss foreign policy during the Makerfield campaign, with Gaza having had less traction in that seat than in other recent by-elections. But that restraint is unlikely to last. He is expected to become more outspoken on the issue in the coming weeks.
Analysts have noted that the Green Party; the leading political voice in the UK against British support for Israel; inflicted more damage on Labour’s vote in the May local elections than Reform UK did. That electoral reality will shape how Burnham navigates the issue as he moves toward Downing Street.
Burnham has described the suffering in Gaza as “beyond words” and urged donations to UK-Med to expand medical access in Gaza. He has also co-signed a letter in June 2025 calling on the government to recognise Palestinian statehood without delay; the UK formally recognised a Palestinian state in September 2025.
Whether Burnham’s track record amounts to a coherent foreign policy position or a carefully managed ambiguity is likely to be one of the defining questions of the leadership race now underway.