Merseyside Pension Fund Tory vice chair promises the Fund will go along with new government sanctions against “arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation.”
The genocide carries on. Week after week more children are killed and that's why we're here - to say enough is enough and to divest our pension fund money from the arms companies that are profiting and fueling the genocide in Gaza. Greg talked about hope before and the things that are changing. So Merseyside pension fund is one of only two along with Clwyd that has actually divested from arms companies. Merseyside has divested from Lockheed Martin the world's biggest arms company and that's a really good move forward.
In the Wirral Council Pensions Committee we have discussed the move of the Pension Fund away from sanctioned companies.
[Jo Bird] It's really good to hear that Merseyside pension fund is willing and able to exclude companies based on the investment policy. This is an ever changing field and only a couple of weeks ago the Labour foreign secretary announced a change, significant change in government policy.
He said "We will take action against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, and real estate for settlement expansion [in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.] So for those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements let me say this, [he said] you will face the full force of UK sanctions."
That's a significant change in government policy and that's always also been an indicator for the pension funds across the country about what's reasonable to expect pension members to support. And the foreign secretary went further, he said, "I also want to address the question of arms sales. We have already suspended over 30 arms licenses used by the IDF in Gaza. That suspension remains fully in place. We will now also refuse all license applications for arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation, in effect a double lock against arms sales. This means the ban on such exports will now remain as long as the occupation persists."
[Jeff Green, Vice Chair of Pension Fund] The fund, from my experience anyway uh always follows if the government sanctions something - sanctions a country or an activity then the fund always goes along with that. We tend to work on treaties, don't we. And so on and so forth government advice so if the government issues advice will probably end up following it that would be my thing. Can we, you've had quite a go Jo. This will be your third go.
[Jo Bird] I very welcome your your comments there chair. I think that the sanctions against arms companies exporting to Israel will be very welcome you move in the right direction here.
[Jeff Green, Vice Chair of Pension Fund] Well we if the government introduces hard and fast sanctions then it would be astonishing if the fund wasn't taking the account of that, wouldn't be.
[Peter Wallach, Director of Pensions] Well, certainly, when Russia invaded Ukraine the government obviously sanctioned Russia and we took that into account, so as you say chair, we'd have very much have regard to any sanctions the government put in place.
September 2026