Andy Burnham has ruled out a coalition deal with the Green Party after it passed a motion declaring “Zionism is racism” at its conference. Burnham said:
“Can I condemn the motion that passed unequivocally – it is wrong, it is antisemitic, and this side of the House will have nothing to do with it… We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds [that] position.”
Asked in Berlin about a Labour-Green coalition, he said: “I’m not getting into any business about what might or might not happen in the future.”
Polanski wants to amend the motion to support a two-state solution for Israel-Palestine if approved by the Palestinian population. He has opposition from his top team on that…
Deputy Leader Mothin Ali, who opposed that amendment, said today:
“I believe it’s crucial that our grassroots democratic structures are defended, and decisions made at conference are respected… Our member-led democracy is one of our party’s greatest strengths.”
Meanwhile the other deputy Rachel Millward reacted to the motion with the statement including:
“I’ve had messages from members today expressing deep concern, and questions raised about whether our policy making process is truly democratic, reflecting the wide diversity of our membership. To those members who feel disoriented by this deluge of divisive headlines – I see you…
I am going to take a moment to reflect on how we move forward as a party which is ready to step into power, to build the future our grandchildren need.”
Trouble in paradise…
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock was asked if Burnham will take Britain back into the EU:
“Yes, sure – his commitment is authentic. He really does understand from the grassroots up why restoring what I think of as normality in our continent is vital for every party economically, politically, culturally, in terms of security, and he’s able to articulate it in language that people can understand. So yeah, he is definitely”.