Across the UK, grassroots campaigns have been pressing local councils to divest pension funds and other links with Israel, as the genocide of Palestinian civilians continues with little or no international pressure to stop.
Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) often have exposure to companies linked to human rights violations in Palestine or arms companies continuing to facilitate Israel’s genocide. In 2020, the UN Human Rights Commission published a list of companies associated with Israeli human rights violations, and many councils regularly monitor and try to apply pressure on fund managers to limit any such investments.
In London, the 31 Boroughs and the City of London are all clients of London CIV (Collective Investment Vehicle), a pooling company managing LGPS assets. Like many other financial institutions, they say they are “engaging” with partner funds and investee companies, but there is to date no firm commitment to wholesale divestment.
Many councils are exploring routes to ethically cleanse their LGPS investments while fulfilling their fiduciary duty to tax payers to maintain yields, but it’s a complicated business, even for council officials who are sympathetic to the issues. There are very few banks for example that can provide the large-scale services a council needs. One of these few is Barclays, which is a major target of Boycott Divest Sanction (BDS) campaigners for its underwriting of arms companies, including Israel’s Elbit Systems. Also, councils often invest in huge pooled funds where there might only be a small element of controversial exposure, and where divesting from the whole fund would be very costly.
Islington, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Lambeth and Powys are among dozens of councils who have been under pressure from residents, and who have issued promises of review and action.
In the summer, Waltham Forest approved amendments to its ethical investment policy, promising to withdraw pension funds from companies linked to supplying arms with Israel, but warned it will take some time. They were the first UK council to divest from fossil fuels, but that process has taken years.
As well as facing moral condemnation, councils continuing to invest in companies linked to Israeli atrocities could encounter legal consequences. The UN Human Rights Office issued a notice in June which listed complicit arms companies and warned financial institutions investing in them that they could be called to account.
Like many other London boroughs, a substantial portion of Lewisham’s pension investment is managed by BlackRock, with significant interests in arms companies such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop, Boeing and others which are listed by the UN.
In Wales during the Autumn, activists at Rhondda Cynon Taf got the council to pass a motion calling for a ceasefire and return of hostages on both sides, but calls for divestment were ignored. Meanwhile in Lewisham the council agreed to ‘explore’ divesting away from companies involved in arms trade or operating in illegally occupied Palestinian territories.
In Bradford in October, councillors vacated the chamber when protesters hung banners and disrupted the full council meeting. Bradford Independents had their divestment motion supported by the Greens and LibDems, but the majority Labour council ignored it, responding with their own motion that the council has no power to instruct an ‘independent’ fund.
Westminster Council has a pension pot worth more than two billion pounds, including through BlackRock some interest in Elbit Systems, but officials claim it would be impossible to divest because of the pooled nature of its investment and the cost of a full divestment from a large fund manager. After pressure from union activists in the summer, its pension committee issued a report claiming that it is “required to focus on ensuring that sound investment decisions are made in the best interests of scheme members, taking into account all relevant considerations and excluding irrelevant ones, with committee meetings not used as a forum to set out political positions.”
Kensington & Chelsea also hold investments via BlackRock, with a £56,000 investment in Elbit Systems as part of that (according to a review which was instigated by independent councillor Emma Dent-Coad). But the review references the council’s policy of “non-interference” with the day-to-day decisions of investment managers.
In North London in September, activists submitted a divestment petition with nearly 2.5k signatures to Islington’s full council meeting. The council agreed to review its procurement policies and divest from companies on the UN Human Rights Council list, but progress has been slow, and local activists continue to pressure for real action, especially from a council widely considered to have a progressive stance.
Last week, hundreds attended a rally outside the council meeting and heard speeches from local residents including union activists, an anti-apartheid campaigner, and an anti-Zionist Jew. They also heard from a local business owner who had lived in Gaza during Israel’s attacks of 2009, 2012, and 2014, as well as from local MP Jeremy Corbyn, who reminded the government of their duty as ICC Rome Convention signatories to implement arrest warrants and end all complicity in war crimes.
Inside the council meeting, activists reminded the council of its long-standing commitment to human rights, asking it to lead the way and honour the will of Islington residents demonstrated by the petition. They reminded the council of its own 2023 policy motion urging the government to “adopt a foreign and defence policy to restrict export licenses to prevent the sale of weaponry to autocratic and repressive regimes”.
Islington have agreed to review procurement policies and to divest from companies on the UN Human Rights list, but have so far fallen short of a full commitment to divestment.
Last week’s Islington rally was organised by the local Palestine Solidarity Campaign group.
