Labour conference to vote on Israel sanctions and recognising Gaza genocide
Labour Party delegates will vote on an emergency motion declaring that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and demanding a full arms embargo on Monday at the annual conference in Liverpool.
Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer argued against the motion earlier on Sunday, saying it could threaten elements of the peace process in the Middle East.
The motion, "Peace in the Middle East 2", comes alongside another motion understood to broadly support Labour policy on Israel.
The governing party’s annual conference began in Liverpool on Sunday, just a week after the government recognised the state of Palestine in a historic move.
If the new motion passes, the Labour conference will officially accept the findings of a recent UN Commission of Inquiry report, which found that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and will back comprehensive sanctions on Israel and a full arms embargo.
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Blocking motions on genocide
Delegates from constituencies and affiliated organisations will vote on motions covering a range of topics over the next few days.
It emerged last week that party officials had previously blocked more than 30 motions submitted by Labour constituency groups and affiliated organisations.
MEE understands the emergency motion, endorsed by the PSC, received strong trade union support.
Ben Jamal, director of the PSC, told MEE that if the motion passes on Monday, it "would represent a demand from the Labour conference for a seismic shift in government policy."
A copy of the motion seen by MEE says: "Conference accepts the findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry and calls on the Labour government to... employ all means reasonably available to it to prevent the commission of genocide in Gaza."
The motion further demands that the government "apply sanctions to put pressure on the Israeli government to respect international law" and "ensure individuals and corporations in the UK are not involved in aiding and assisting the genocide".
'Deep complicity'
Labour MP Richard Burgon said at a PSC-organised conference fringe event at the Hilton hotel on Sunday evening that his constituency party in Leeds East was among those that had submitted a motion declaring Israel is committing genocide to the conference.
"I am sick to death, as a backbench MP, of hearing front bench ministers saying what awful things they've seen on television," Burgon said.
"I'm sick of them looking sad at the dispatch box... what we want is not political theatre."
He demanded sanctions on Israel to force it to "stop the genocide."
Last week it emerged that most motions on Palestine were rejected on the grounds that they do “not relate to a new issue not substantially covered in the NPF [National Policy Framework] report.”
The 2025 annual NPF report was published in early August. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said many motions “focused on events that took place after the NPF Report was published”.
The PSC also said that the motions “make demands on the Labour Party that are not included in the NPF Report, such as an end to all arms trade and military cooperation with Israel, comprehensive sanctions, and a ban on trade that aides or assists Israel’s violations of international law.”
In response, Labour MP Clive Lewis accused the party of “silencing debate on Israel’s genocide in Gaza”.
British policy
Last September, the government suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel after a review found a clear risk that British-made weapons could be used in violation of international humanitarian law.
Licences for parts for F-35 fighter jets, which are directly used in Gaza, were among those exempted from the embargo.
Recent polling found that 72 percent of Labour’s 2024 voters back a full arms embargo on Israel.
Recent months have seen a series of diplomatic spats between the UK and Israel, two historical allies.
The UK government banned Israeli officials from Britain’s largest arms trade show earlier this month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the UK’s move to recognise a Palestinian state last week as "rewarding Hamas."
However, Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Britain last week and met Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street.
Herzog said afterwards that he both "argued" and had points of agreement with Starmer, whom he called Israel's "ally".
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