Good riddance to Keir Starmer—but keep up the fight for a free Palestine
By Socialist Worker journalists
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Saturday 18 July 2026
On the 36th national demonstration for Palestine (Picture: Guy Smallman)
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of London on Saturday for the 36th national Palestine demonstration.
They celebrated Keir Starmer’s downfall—and demanded that new Labour leader Andy Burnham stops supporting Israel.
Shaheda came to the demonstration with her sister and children from Reading. She told Socialist Worker, “We have a new prime minister and he needs to know that we haven’t gone away.
“This is not the time to stop protesting. We need Palestine in everyone’s minds.”
Mick from the Midlands agreed. When asked if he thought Burnham would change Labour’s stance on Palestine, he told Socialist Worker, “We hope that if we can bring enough pressure, he’ll be different.
“But he won’t be different just because he’s Burnham—we’ve got to force him to be different.”
Corto, a member of the French left wing LFI party living in London, was less hopeful. “I think Burnham might talk a bit better about issues than Starmer, but they come from the same political machine,” he told Socialist Worker.
“Maybe he’s going to shift a little because he can feel the pressure, but I think it’s going to be mostly the same.”
Some protesters already have demands for Burnham. Michael told Socialist Worker, “He has to impose sanctions and impose an arms embargo on Israel.
“And crucially, as prime minister, will he make sure that the Palestine Action ban will be lifted? That will be a real test for him.”
At least a dozen Unite union members on strike at the Institute for Cancer Research (ICR) joined the march.
Aiden, a Unite union rep at the ICR, told Socialist Worker, “I’m here today to stand in solidarity with Palestine.”
“It’s important for trade unionists to be involved in the struggle for a free Palestine.
“We have to struggle on the picket line, the same as we have to struggle for Palestine. We live in hope that we can fight and win on both fronts.”
Danny, another ICR striker, agreed, “The mood in my workplace is overwhelmingly in support of Palestine. It gives me hope to see so many people here today, standing up and speaking out for the people of Palestine.
“I was at Marxism Festival a few weeks ago. It was inspiring to be in a space with so many people who were united in a common cause and it feels like that again today.”
Danny emphasised that “although there’s a new prime minister, I don’t expect any better from Burnham”. “He’s not signalled that there will be any significant departure from what Starmer was doing,” he said.
Striker Jamila said, “Bosses won’t pay workers a wage that we can live on. But, at the same time, they’re always able to find money for more war.”
Faisa from Derby thinks multiple forms of protest are necessary to ramp up the pressure. She told Socialist Worker that she’d set up a Palestine solidarity group locally and some 20 activists had travelled down on Saturday.
Burnham promises change, but can he deliver?
“Our group has been part of protests outside the UAV Engines factory in Shenstone,” she said.
UAV Engines is owned by Elbit systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer. They build engines that power Israeli drones.
Faisa added, “Blocking the factories where these weapons are made is important. That is shutting down the war machine and hitting those who make a profit from killing children.”
At the rally Palestinian ambassador to Britain, Husam Zomlot, said that Burnham’s apology for Labour’s inaction over Palestine is “an important step”. But he added that we must now “demand action” from him.
“Number one, all the ICC arrest warrants must be upheld. Benjamin Netanyahu must be arrested. Stop all arm sales to Israel. Sanction Israel.”
Sukaina Rajwani is the mother of Fatema Zainab, imprisoned as a terrorist last week as part of the Filton 25 group of non-violent direct actionists.
State repression will not silence the Palestine movement
She told the crowd, “On Friday 12 June, judge Johnson sentenced Palestine Action direct actionists as terrorists. My daughter Fatema Rajwani Fatima was one of them. Their crime? Protesting against the Israeli military.
“For the first time in history, they were sentenced for a crime they were not tried for.
“My daughter is only 21 years old. She has spent almost 10 percent of her life behind bars.”
As the British state ramps up repression, a key task is building mass support for those bearing the brunt of Labour’s authoritarianism.
Support the Filton 25 and Brize Norton VI—organise union, workplace and campaign meetings and invite people from the campaigns to speak.
And let’s fight to force the Labour government to stop all arms sales to Israel, impose sanctions and cut all ties with the terror state.
Diary dates
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has called a national demonstration at the Filton arms plant, near Bristol, this Thursday, 23 July.
Coaches are going from London, Cardiff and Newport in South Wales, Bridport and Dorchester in Dorset and Walsall and Birmingham.
PSC is recommending activists in Bristol catch the train. All the protest details on the PSC website.
The International Conference Against War, organised by Stop The War (STW) last month, called for an international day of action for Palestine on 10 October. This will include a national demonstration in Britain.
And the conference also called for mobilisations against rearmament on 21-22 November.