Full Breakdown
Protest at Labour Conference Highlights Ban on Palestine Action
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
A silent, sign-holding vigil is planned outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool to protest the UK’s proscription of Palestine Action. The rights group Defend Our Juries says the ban, imposed under the Terrorism Act in July 2025, has already led to “more than 3,600 people” being arrested for displaying support. Organisers expect several hundred additional demonstrators and view the rally as an “integrity test” of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s commitment to ending Britain’s alleged complicity in Israel’s war-related actions.
Background & Context
Palestine Action, whose primary target is Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems, was outlawed while Keir Starmer served as prime minister. Starmer later justified Israel’s right to cut Gaza’s water supply, a stance he subsequently softened, but the ban remained. Earlier Labour leaders—Jeremy Corbyn, Ed Miliband and Starmer—each adopted progressively stronger positions on Palestinian statehood and Israeli settlements, with Miliband supporting a two-state solution and Corbyn championing Palestinian rights despite internal party controversies.
Official Statements & Responses
Burnham has announced new sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements earlier this month, signalling a tougher Labour line on the conflict. The investigative outlet Declassified UK reported that it was denied media passes to cover the conference, underscoring tensions between the government and critics. No official comment has been released by the Home Office regarding the ban’s continuation.
Criticism & Opposition
Defend Our Juries urges Burnham to lift the ban, arguing that doing so would align with his stated goal of ending British complicity in “Israel’s horrific crimes.” Council for Arab-British Understanding analyst Joseph Willits contends that Burnham’s actions, together with those of former leaders Miliband and Starmer, demonstrate political will absent in previous administrations. Political scientist Colm Murphy explains that Labour’s leadership must balance internal unity with the electoral realities of a first-past-the-post system, often leading to a “defanged” approach on contentious issues.
Verbatim Quotes
- “If [prime minister] Burnham means what he says, that he plans to end Britain’s complicity in Israel’s horrific crimes, then he would stop the arrests of people peacefully demonstrating against the genocide and the authoritarian attempts to crush its opponents,” — Defend Our Juries
- “I think the interests of a Labour leader who wants to keep the Labour Party together, and keep a broad electoral bloc together too in a first-past-the-post system, is to try and defang this issue as much as possible,” — Colm Murphy, a senior lecturer in British politics at Queen Mary University
- “The legacy of Starmer is actually worsened by the fact that Burnham and Miliband were able to act, because it shows that they could act and they had the political will, they had the personal and public will, and they actually did do something,” — Joseph Willits, head of Parliamentary Affairs at the Council for Arab-British Understanding
- “I think it’s too early to say,” — Joseph Willits, head of Parliamentary Affairs at the Council for Arab-British Understanding