Story summary
Tony Blair has criticized Andy Burnham, leader of the UK's Labour Party, urging him to rule out any future deals with the Green Party due to recent controversial motions passed at their conference. The Greens voted by a margin of 1,022 to 813 in favor of a motion declaring "Zionism is racism," which has been widely condemned for its perceived anti-Semitism and denial of Israel's right to exist. This vote led to significant backlash against the Green Party, with it being reported to both police and the UK's equalities watchdog.
Blair warned that such an alliance would be tempting only at the expense of unity on the British left but could harm Labour’s credibility given the contentious nature of the Greens' stance. Current polling suggests a potential hung Parliament in which the Prime Minister might need support from smaller parties like the Liberal Democrats or the Greens, complicating Burnham's options if he calls for an early election.
Written for “UK Politics Green Party Controversy” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Tony Blair has piled pressure on Andy Burnham to rule out a Labour deal with the Green Party in the wake of its anti-Semitism row.
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Blair → pile → row
The former Labour prime minister urged his own party to not be 'tempted' by a Labour-Green alliance to 'unite the British Left'.
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minister → urge → Left
Sir Tony said the Greens' passing of a policy motion to declare 'Zionism is racism' at their conference last weekend had crossed 'a dangerous line'.
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Zionism → say → line
The resolution backed by Green members in Brighton had 'effectively denounced the State of Israel's right to exist', the ex-premier added.
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premier → back → right
A storm of criticism in the wake of Sunday's vote has seen Zack Polanski's Greens dubbed 'an extremist party' and the motion branded an 'attack' on British Jews.
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motion → see → Jews
Amid the furious backlash, the Greens have been reported to both the police and the UK's equalities watchdog over events at their South Coast conference.
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Greens → report → conference
If Mr Burnham were to soon call a general election, current polling suggests the result could be a hung Parliament with the Prime Minister relying on the support of other parties - such as the Liberal Democrats or Greens - to keep Labour in power.
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Minister → call → power
But, in an article for US website The Free Press, Sir Tony warned Mr Burnham and Labour that the Greens' conference motion was 'a signal event'.
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motion → warn → Burnham
Tony Blair has piled pressure on Andy Burnham to rule out a Labour deal with the Green Party in the wake of its anti-Semitism row
A storm of criticism in the wake of Sunday's vote has seen Zack Polanski's Greens dubbed 'an extremist party' and the motion branded an 'attack' on British Jews
'
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motion → pile → Jews
This weekend, the Green Party of England and Wales crossed a line.
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Party → cross → line
One that it is unacceptable to cross,' Sir Tony wrote.
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Tony → cross → that
'It passed a resolution which effectively denounced the State of Israel's right to exist.
'
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which → pass → right
By a vote of 1,022 to 813, the party passed a motion entitled 'Zionism Is Racism,' which commits the party to a single Palestinian state covering all of historic Palestine - which is to say, to a world in which Israel, the state which contains the largest population of Jews on Earth, does not exist.'
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which → pass → Earth
He added: 'Since at least two-thirds of British Jews call themselves Zionists, the party has, in effect, branded the majority of the country's Jews racists, while declaring that doing so cannot be anti-Semitic.
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doing → add → Jews
'If you care about the future of Britain, as I do, and if you care about the future of the peoples that live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, as I do, this is a signal event.'
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this → care → River
In a message to his own party, Sir Tony went on: 'There are those in my party, Labour, who might be tempted by the so-called progressive Red-Green coalition - an alliance between Labour and the Greens to unite the British Left.
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who → go → Left
But this vote should serve as a warning of the dangers such an alliance would bring.'
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alliance → serve → dangers
The ex-premier said that people around the world would be 'rightly appalled' by the devastation of the Gaza war.
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people → say → war
'We can debate the Middle East: its politics, its challenges, and its solutions.
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We → debate → East
That is healthy,' he added.
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he → add → ?
It reveals something rotten.
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It → reveal → something
It is the duty of all of us to put it right.'
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It → put → it
In response to Sir Tony's article, a Green Party spokesperson said: 'We won't take lectures from a man who took this country into a catastrophic illegal war in Iraq that was justified by fabricated intelligence.'
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that → say → intelligence
Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson has branded the Greens' conference motion as 'shameful' and 'fundamentally wrong'.
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Phillipson → brand → motion
'This vote underlines how important it was that we changed the Labour Party from top to bottom and ripped out the scourge of anti-Semitism from within the party,' she said in a statement issued on Sunday.
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she → underline → Sunday
'The Labour Party and the Labour Government will continue working every day to ensure our Jewish communities are safe, feel safe and have their rights upheld, as well as making sure we rid our society of anti-Semitism once and for all.'
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we → continue → all
Downing Street said the PM and the Government would continue to support Israel's right to exist and to pursue a two-state solution in the Middle East.
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PM → say → East
Mr Polanski skipped Sunday's vote in order to focus on his by-election campaign in Holborn and St Pancras, where he is hoping to be elected the next local MP this week.
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he → skip → MP
He did not directly address the row for more than 24 hours but, in a statement issued on Monday night, the Green leader – who is Jewish – later said his party would 'not accept any exclusion' of people based on religion.
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party → address → religion
'As leader I will not accept any exclusion, or refusal to engage with anyone, because of the religious or communal body they are part of,' Mr Polanski added.
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Polanski → accept → body
'I take seriously my responsibility to make sure everyone feels safe and welcome in our party.
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feels → take → party
'Under my leadership, no one will be made unwelcome because of their background, their faith or where they worship.'
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they → make → background
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