By Home Affairs Correspondent
LONDON, (The Muslim News): More than 150 London councillors and Assembly members have called for local government pension funds to be divested from companies linked to Israeli violations of international law.
In a letter submitted on Tuesday to the London Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV), 154 politicians urged the pooled pension fund to provide investment options excluding firms identified as complicit in “grave violations” against Palestinians, and to set a clear timetable for full divestment.
The CIV manages around £34bn on behalf of London boroughs, with approximately £7bn currently invested in companies flagged by campaigners as connected to Israel’s military actions, including nearly £1bn in arms manufacturers.
The letter demonstrates cross-party support, with 64 Labour politicians, 39 Greens, seven Liberal Democrats and 29 independents among the signatories. Notable supporters include London Assembly member Elly Baker, Islington Council deputy leader Santiago Bell-Bradford, and Wandsworth cabinet member Aydin Dikerdem.
The letter was formally handed in at the CIV offices by a cross-party group of councillors, including Green and Liberal Democrat members, and coordinated by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and London-wide divestment coalition Shake the CIV.
Green Party politician Zoë Garbett, who was due to attend but was replaced by colleagues, said, “Londoners do not want their pensions invested in companies linked to war crimes, apartheid, and genocide. They want their money invested responsibly, with strong returns that are not built on the destruction of lives in Palestine, or others around the world. The London CIV should listen to the people it ultimately serves and move toward divestment from companies complicit in Israel’s crimes and human rights abuses globally.”
Campaigners say the issue could become a major factor in the 7 May local elections, with Palestinian rights a growing topic of discussion in London politics.
Milly Oldfield, a spokesperson for Shake the CIV, said, “We launched this campaign because Londoners are fed up of councils refusing to hold the CIV accountable on divestment from Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. It’s heartening that so many councillors are already on our side. The CIV should take heed now because after the May elections, where Palestine is set to be a key voting issue, their numbers will soar and our demands will be impossible to ignore.”
The letter urges the CIV to allow councils to remove investments implicated in military actions in Gaza and land seizures in the West Bank, affecting around 700,000 current and former local government staff with London council pensions. Polling cited by campaigners suggests 49% of Londoners support divestment, while only 16% are opposed.
Aydin Dikerdem, a Labour councillor, added, “Right now, companies that are directly complicit in violations of international law – be it through illegal occupation, apartheid, or the genocide in Gaza – could end up in the CIV’s pooled pension funds. Divesting from these complicit companies would give confidence to council workers and pension scheme members that their pensions are not funding human rights abuses or genocide.”
Pressure on councils has been increasing: since July 2024, eight London boroughs, including Wandsworth, Islington, and Southwark, have passed motions or issued statements in support of divesting their pension funds from companies linked to Israel’s actions.
The London CIV has not yet responded to the latest letter.
[Photo by Shake the CIV]
