Following Andy Burnham’s apology for Labour’s initial response to Israel’s military action in Gaza, Muslims in Bradford have said the real test for the new PM’s efforts to woo them back in an area where the the issue has reshaped political loyalties for many former Labour voters has only just begun.
Burnham said in a statement at the beginning of July, just weeks before he became prime minister, that Labour “didn’t get it right” over Gaza and the party needed to do better under his leadership.
He also reiterated his condemnation of the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
Following the attack, Israel responded by launching a massive military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 73,280 people have been killed, including 1,158 since the subsequent ceasefire began, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
During the early weeks of the conflict, the then prime minister Sir Keir Starmer had backed humanitarian pauses to help aid reach Gazans, but he stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
Burnham was one of several high-profile Labour figures who had called for a ceasefire in Gaza by late October 2023 – which at the time put him at odds with Starmer.
In his statement, Burnham said: “Labour’s initial response to the treatment of Gaza caused huge hurt. We got it wrong and I am sorry for that.”
