Less than two weeks ago, the UK government announced it had formally recognised the state of Palestine. Today, at the Labour Party Conference, its members voted to recognise the war in Gaza as a genocide.
There were whoops and cheers outside the conference hall after a motion calling on the party to accept the findings of a recent UN report was passed. The report, published earlier in September, found that Israel’s actions in Gaza breach the threshold for four out of the five genocidal acts. This motion was brought by several trade unions and constituency Labour parties, and stewarded by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The vote passed through conference floor after more than 30 emergency motions in the past week were submitted to the Conference Arrangements Committee.
The passing of this motion marks the first time Labour has officially recognised Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide. Though no members of the cabinet have described the conflict as such, the strength of feeling among party members has clearly not dissipated after the government officially recognised a Palestinian state at the UN last week. Critics of Keir Starmer have pointed out that other party leaders have described the war in Gaza as a genocide since the UN’s report. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said on 15 September, the eve of Donald Trump’s state visit: “What is happening in Gaza is a genocide. And the President of the United States who wants a Nobel Peace Prize is doing nothing to stop it.”
Gaza has not been a defining issue at this conference: the government is far keener to talk about “Labour values” and renewing Britain. Still, the passing of this motion is significant. Even if government ministers are yet to recognise what is happening in Gaza as a genocide, that is now the official line of the party they represent. Starmer might have thought fury over Gaza would fade after Palestine recognition was secured. It hasn’t. Whether the government adopts this new Labour position remains to be seen. But the pressure is on.
[Further reading: Shabana Mahmood attacks right-wing “ethnonationalism”]
Content from our partners
Related
Join the debate
Subscribe here to comment