Three Haringey councillors join campaign calling for pension fund divestment

The councillors are among 130 to sign a letter demanding a collective pension pool for councils in London divests from companies “enabling Israel’s grave violations of international law”, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

London CIV divestment campaigners pictured this week (credit Joe Ives/LDRS)

Three members of Haringey Council have joined calls urging a London-wide investment scheme to divest from companies “enabling Israel’s grave violations of international law”.

On Tuesday (17th) a letter signed by more than 130 councilors across London was handed in to the offices of the London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV).

LCIV is an asset management company which handles the pooled pensions of all 32 local authorities in the capital.

A report published last year found that 77.6% of Haringey Council’s pension pot is invested with the LCIV.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the former minister of defence. They alleged responsibility for war crimes and other criminal acts during the county’s war on Gaza.

The London councillors, working with action groups Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Shake the CIV are calling on the investment vehicle to create investment options excluding “all companies enabling Israel’s grave violations of international law” and to set a timeline for divesting all offerings from such firms.

The move is part of a long-standing form of non-violent protest action known as ‘boycott, divestment and sanctions’, often shortened to BDS.

The letter, signed by Haringey councillors Mark Blake and Ruairidh Paton (both from the Green Socialist Alliance group) and Alexandra Worrel (an independent), was handed in at the LCIV offices in Lavington Street, near London Bridge, on Tuesday. This followed speeches from councillors from other London boroughs and representatives of the two campaign groups.

Haringey councillors Mark Blake, Ruairidh Paton and Alexandra Worrel

Shake the CIV says around 20% of the LCIV’s £34.2billion pension investments for council staff is “known to be enabling Israel’s grave violations of Palestinian human rights”. This includes companies including arms manufacturers as well as tech and arms firms all “implicated in human rights abuses”.

The LCIV has disputed these claims. In a statement released last year, it said that campaign groups had “wrongly” calculated a £7bn figure for investments “in companies alleged to be complicit in conflicts and human rights violations relating to Gaza”.

It added: “This is incorrect and appears to have arisen from a misunderstanding of data published on the London CIV website last year, following an FOI request.”

LCIV added: “This data actually showed that London CIV’s exposure stood at £713million, which equated to 4% of the pool’s total assets under management.”

The fund also said Shake the CIV’s report “included Partner Fund exposures in their own passive strategies (often described as ‘deemed pooled’), which totalled £6.5bn. These passive strategies are managed by third-party fund managers, not under London CIV management and entirely outside the pool’s control in terms of any investment decisions”.

Peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet recently published ‘The Gaza Mortality Survey’, which estimated more than 75,000 “violent deaths” occurring in the strip between 7th October 2023 and early 2025.

The figure means approximately 3.4% of Gaza’s population has been killed as a result of Israel’s response to the 7th October 2023 terror attacks on the country, which killed 1,195 people and resulted in around 250 Israeli civilians being taken hostage.

Haringey Council was approached for comment by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) regarding the letter and its pension investments with LCIV.

A spokesperson said: “Haringey Council has no jurisdiction or legal authority over the pension fund.

“The investments are legally separate from council decision-making processes and administered by the pensions committee and board.”

They added: “Investments are guided by the Responsible Investment Policy that includes well-established risk-monitoring, engagement, and stewardship arrangements.”

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