Andy Burnham has condemned a motion passed at the Green Party’s conference in Brighton defining

Andy Burnham has condemned a motion passed at the Green Party’s conference in Brighton defining Zionism as a form of racism, calling the decision “completely wrong” and evidence of “terrible judgement,” bbc.co.uk reported.

The motion, approved on Sunday by party members, defines Zionism as an ideology supporting an ethnonationalist Jewish state and backs a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine, including modern-day Israel. In response to the vote, Green leader Zack Polanski stated he would not accept anyone being excluded from the party because of their religious or communal body. Polanski did not vote on the motion, having left the conference early to return to London ahead of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

Burnham Intervenes as Campaign Closes

The timing of the vote coincides with the close of polls in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, where Polanski is standing as a candidate seeking to overturn a substantial Labour majority previously held by former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Polanski declined media interviews following the vote and did not answer questions from a BBC reporter regarding the motion ahead of Burnham’s comments. Before the conference vote, Polanski backed an amendment specifying that the motion should not be used to discipline Jewish members attending synagogues identifying as Zionist, though that amendment was defeated by members. He also argued against the party defining future territorial settlements, stating he did not believe the Green Party of England and Wales or the British government should decide what a future settlement looks like.

Former Leaders and MPs Split on the Brighton Vote

The motion has triggered severe internal divisions across the party. Caroline Lucas, who became the Greens’ first MP in 2010, told the BBC that she holds serious concerns that the motion is divisive and risks signaling that Jewish people are unwelcome in the party. Adrian Ramsay, the party’s first male MP after winning Waveney Valley in the 2024 General Election, told The Times that adopting a policy undermining the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to statehood is wrong and runs contrary to the 2024 manifesto position. Four of the five Green MPs have opposed the motion, while the party’s co-deputy leaders remain split, and the Green deputy leader in Wales has resigned.

Controversy at the conference also extended to gender-critical policies. Zoe Hatch and Jude English, directors of the Green Women’s Declaration, spoke to gbnews.com after being barred from entering the conference over claims their presence would make transgender members feel unsafe. Shahrar Ali, a former deputy leader of the Greens, similarly told gbnews.com outside the Brighton venue that members holding gender-critical views have been persecuted. Polanski also called on the government to deproscribe Palestine Action, a group whose activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in June 2025 and caused approximately seven million pounds in damage to military aircraft.

Official Green Party policy is determined through an internal democracy model where members decide positions during conferences, though such votes do not automatically become part of general election manifestos.

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