Blair warns Burnham not to be 'tempted' by a Labour-Green coalition after Zionisim-is-racism vote crossed 'a dangerous line'

From the Newshound archive · first published 7 October 2026.

Tony Blair has publicly urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to rule out any coalition with the Green Party after its conference voted to declare 'Zionism is racism'. Writing in The Free Press, the former Labour prime minister said the motion — passed 1,022 to 813 in Brighton — effectively stripped the State of Israel of its right to exist. Blair warned Labour figures against forming a so-called Red-Green alliance, saying the Greens' vote should serve as a stark warning of the dangers such a pact would bring.

The Greens have been reported to both police and the equalities watchdog over the Brighton conference motion, which critics branded an 'attack' on British Jews.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis called the motion 'a threat to British Jews and to Britain', while Amnesty International chair Sandy Ruthven resigned from the party over it.

Green leader Zack Polanski, who did not vote on the motion, has already been barred from entering Israel in response to his party's decision.