More than 1,000 UK councillors sign Palestine pledge as local polls loom
2/26/2026 3:58:39 PM
More than 1,000 councillors in England have signed a pledge in support of Palestinians ahead of local elections in May.
Launched by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in December, the Councillor Pledge for Palestine is urging politicians to take steps to “uphold the rights” of Palestinians, “stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid” and ensure their councils “are not complicit”.
According to the campaign, 1,152 sitting councillors have signed the pledge. Of those, 387 are from the Green Party, 375 from the governing Labour Party and 115 from the Liberal Democrats.
Five councillors from the Conservative Party are among the signatories, along with hundreds more from the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, the Scottish Greens and local parties, or who serve as independents. No candidates from the far-right Reform UK have signed the pledge.
The initiative, which will be opened to all candidates in March, is supported by Vote Palestine, a grassroots campaign coordinated by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and backed by the Palestinian Youth Movement Britain, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, The Muslim Vote and the British Palestinian Committee.
It aims to pressure councils to adopt policies aligned with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, including divesting pension funds from companies linked to Israeli arms production.
Local Government Pension Scheme funds, administered by councils, invest more than 12.2 billion pounds ($16.5bn) in companies that are complicit in violations of international law, according to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Thirty-one councils have passed motions or issued statements supporting divestment of pension funds, the campaign says. It notes 46 percent of voters back divestment, compared with 14 percent who oppose it.
Supporters describe the movement as inspired by the anti-apartheid campaign of the 1980s, when more than 100 local authorities banned South African goods from their offices and schools, and others ended pension fund investments in companies with South African subsidiaries.
Launched by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in December, the Councillor Pledge for Palestine is urging politicians to take steps to “uphold the rights” of Palestinians, “stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid” and ensure their councils “are not complicit”.
According to the campaign, 1,152 sitting councillors have signed the pledge. Of those, 387 are from the Green Party, 375 from the governing Labour Party and 115 from the Liberal Democrats.
Five councillors from the Conservative Party are among the signatories, along with hundreds more from the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, the Scottish Greens and local parties, or who serve as independents. No candidates from the far-right Reform UK have signed the pledge.
The initiative, which will be opened to all candidates in March, is supported by Vote Palestine, a grassroots campaign coordinated by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and backed by the Palestinian Youth Movement Britain, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, The Muslim Vote and the British Palestinian Committee.
It aims to pressure councils to adopt policies aligned with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, including divesting pension funds from companies linked to Israeli arms production.
Local Government Pension Scheme funds, administered by councils, invest more than 12.2 billion pounds ($16.5bn) in companies that are complicit in violations of international law, according to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Thirty-one councils have passed motions or issued statements supporting divestment of pension funds, the campaign says. It notes 46 percent of voters back divestment, compared with 14 percent who oppose it.
Supporters describe the movement as inspired by the anti-apartheid campaign of the 1980s, when more than 100 local authorities banned South African goods from their offices and schools, and others ended pension fund investments in companies with South African subsidiaries.