The Labour councillors have been horrified at witnessing the war crimes committed in Gaza, we understand that many of our supporters care very deeply about what we can do to help those that are suffering. As a council there are limited actions we can take to influence national foreign policy and international events, but we felt we should share the steps we have been able to take thus far.
Called for a ceasefire: As we watched the horrific events in Palestine unfold, we believe that the ongoing violence has been causing unacceptable levels of harm, as a result we have called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire. As a local authority, we have the duty to reflect the concerns and values of our residents, many of whom are directly or indirectly affected to the war crims being committed. We feel that a ceasefire is essential and urgent and call on the government to do whatever it takes to protect the lives and liberties of those across the Middle-East.
Twinning with Aizariyeh: In an act of solidarity with the Palestinian People, we have decided to start the twinning process with Aizariyeh in the West Bank. On October 3rd we passed the historic friendship agreement that formally twinned our borough with Aizariyeh. We were incredibly pleased to welcome a delegation of young people from Aizariyeh to the Town Hall to mark this commitment. The delegation joined us in the town hall to receive the signed agreement and celebrate in an evening of food, music, and poetry. We heard experiences from the people, and the councillors shared their stories and poetry.
New banking services provider: We have completed the procurement process for our new banking provider, strengthening our ethical requirements to include explicit commitments on human rights and international law. As a result, we will be moving from Barclays to Lloyds. The key decision follows a transparent procurement process with a strategy informed by a working group of councillors. Labour Councillor Flora Williamson, executive member for Finance and Performance said: “It’s only right that we challenge our banking provider to take ethical banking seriously, and we set that out as one of the key elements to consider when assessing who to bank with once the current contract expires. This approach reflects our robust policy on human rights abuses and builds on our significant, ongoing work to reduce the carbon footprint of our pension fund”.
Pensions Divestment: Our pension fund, valued at £2.2bn, has a Responsible Investment Policy affirming that we will not invest in companies contributing to serious and systematic breaches of international law and human rights. Last month the Pension Committee decided that they will engage, challenge, and ultimately exclude from our investments any companies that are not compliant with our requirements to follow international law. They have also fully divested from companies that have already been deemed to be non-compliant.
Labour councillor Una O’Halloran, Leader of Islington Council, said: “Islington’s pension fund has been leading the way when it comes to ethical divestment in recent years, to make sure our pension fund reflects our values and our community. As a council, we’re utterly horrified by the senseless, needless death that we’ve seen in Gaza in recent years. We know that many of our pension fund members also care deeply about these issues. This isn’t just about Islington – it’s about setting a standard for local government across the country. Islington’s pension fund is in healthy surplus with its ethical investments being amongst the best performing assets.”