Labour party conference: UK retinent to declare genocide, pro-Palestine protesters take stand

The second day of the 2025 Labour Party Conference on Monday was marred by pro-Palestinian protests and heated debate over the UK’s reticence to declare that Israel is committing genocide.
 
The Labour conference was set to vote on Monday on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza after an emergency motion was brought by unions Unison and Aslef. Another motion will also be put to the vote, which concerns whether the UK-Israel trade agreement should be fully suspended.
 
“Let’s not play with semantics; let’s use the word,” said Christina McAnea, the general secretary of Unison. “Most experts now agree this is genocide, but if we wait for this to be confirmed by a court, it will be too late because it’s already happening as we sit here.”
 
Marz Colombini of the Aslef trade union added, “It would be remiss of me first not to applaud the definition to recognize statehood for Palestine.
 
“And it would also be remiss of me not to mention the horrific, appalling genocide that is quite clearly taking place against the people of Palestine at the hands of the Israeli government.”
 
Both motions were debated earlier in the day, with outrage from some of the party after seven delegates not in favor of the motion were selected to speak, prompting activists to accuse Labour of silencing its members.
No speakers in favor of the motion were called to speak to delegates.
 
Labour & Palestine said, “The leadership has prevented a balanced debate.”
 
A Palestine Solidarity Campaign spokesman stated, “This was a blatant undemocratic move by the Labour leadership to silence demands from trade unions and members for Labour to acknowledge Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza and calling for a full arms embargo.”
 
International Development Minister Baroness Jennifer Chapman, however, stood behind the government’s decision to not yet accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
 
According to The Telegraph, she said, “I believe firmly that it is not for governments or politicians to pronounce when genocide has occurred.”
 
“If you start saying what is genocide, everything becomes genocide, and it becomes completely meaningless, and we must never allow that to happen.”

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper accused Israel of “moral obscenity,” particularly in relation to the withholding of aid to Gaza and the “unconscionable loss of human life.”
 
Cooper said she saw “growing determination from countries across the globe that this intolerable suffering must end” while attending the UN General Assembly in New York last week.
 
“For the hostages and their families in anguish, a Gaza without Hamas, a Gaza without hunger, a Gaza rebuilt for the Palestinian people. And so now, with the demands of the world upon them, Hamas must end its abhorrent detention of hostages, the calculated cruelty that has split and traumatized families for almost two years,” she said.
 
“And the Israeli government must end the moral obscenity of this campaign that has seen food, water, and medicine denied and an unconscionable loss of human life. Because Palestinian civilians should not have to go another day in fear and hunger. The hostages should not have to live another day in the darkness of captivity. No family should endure another loss; enough is enough, the moment cannot be lost.”
 
Cooper stood behind the UK’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state, calling it “the inalienable right of the Palestinian people” and “the only path to lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians.”
 
She did, however, reiterate her previous statements that “there can and will be no place for Hamas terrorists in the future governance of Palestine.”

Protests also featured heavily inside and outside the conference.
 
During her speech, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves was interrupted by a protester holding a Palestinian flag and saying, “Israel is committing a genocide.”
 
Reeves responded by saying, “We understand your cause, and we are recognizing a Palestinian state. But we are now a party of government, not a party of protest.
 
Outside the building, pro-Palestinian campaigners staged a protest with dead baby dolls covered with fake blood.
There was also a separate protest against Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state.
 
A coalition of artists also projected a video onto the entrance of the Labour Party Conference site on Sunday featuring the words, “The refusal of this government to use the word genocide is a craven way of evading Britain’s legal obligations under the Genocide Convention.”
 
Additionally on Sunday, police arrested 66 people outside the conference for protesting in support of the proscribed Palestine Action group.
 
Some held signs reading: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” The group Defend Our Juries, which organized the rally, said, “Whilst the Labour Party congregate at their annual conference, protesters are outside disobeying the unjust ban on Palestine Action.”