Burnham Rules Out Coalition With the Green Party

Andy Burnham has ruled out a coalition deal with the Greens over the party’s recently-passed conference motion on Zionism, calling it “antisemitic”. 

In the Commons on Wednesday, the prime minister responded to a question from Tory MP Dame Harriett Baldwin by saying he “unequivocally condemns” the ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion, which passed by 1,022 votes to 813 at the Greens’ biggest ever conference in Brighton earlier this month. 

Burnham said: “It is wrong. It is antisemitic. This side of the House will have nothing to do with it”, adding that “we cannot support a partnership with a party that holds the position that has recently been adopted”. 

Burnham’s rejection of a future deal with the Greens over a conference motion stands in contrast to the position of Green party leader Zack Polanski, who said it would be “silly” to rule out a coalition with Labour at the next general election. 

He told Channel 4 News at the party conference: “If a Labour government were ready to make the serious change that we needed, then of course my door would be open.”

Polling currently suggests there will be a hung parliament at the next general election. While Labour is expected to be the largest party, according to predictions from Electoral Calculus as of 30 September, it’s predicted to fall 13 seats short of the 326 needed for a majority, meaning it would need to do a deal with another party to rule. 

Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch has also ruled out a deal – in this case with Reform – telling the BBC earlier this month that Reform is “neck deep in scandal” and joining forces with them would “just be one problem after another”.