Ealing Green Party has said its candidates standing in the Ealing Council elections on 7 May 2026 are backing the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s call for public pension funds to divest from companies it claims are linked to Israel’s military actions in Gaza and its policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In a statement, the party said that council employees pay into local government pension schemes and should not have their contributions invested in firms linked to arms manufacturing or other activity it associates with the conflict..
The Ealing Green Party said: “Pension funds are there to fund the future needs of local government employees and their community, not the destruction of a whole society in Palestine.”
It added that local government pension schemes should instead invest in areas such as social housing, home insulation and renewable energy. The party said: “If the pension fund is going to provide a stable future, it should be investing in the infrastructure we need as a society, including social homes, home insulation, and a modern green power supply, rather than arms manufacturers or other companies creating human and environmental damage.”
The Greens also criticised the government’s position on local authority pension investments. The statement refers to reports that the Labour secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Steve Reed, has threatened legal action against councils if local government pension funds shift investments away from certain companies for reasons connected to foreign policy.
The Ealing Green Party said: “It seems Reed would rather see councils having to waste money defending their legitimate investment choices against our own government and corporations.”
The party also said decisions about pension fund investment should be treated as a local issue, arguing that such funds could play a role in supporting infrastructure and public services.
The statement drew a comparison between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank, and said the Green Party was the only mainstream party it believed had been consistent on foreign policy and sanctions.
It added that the UK government had “actively supported Israeli war crimes through arms sales, military surveillance, and diplomatic support”.
The statement from Ealing Green Party follows an open sent last month (21 January 2026) to all Ealing Council councillors from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign Ealing West London branch.
The letter was signed by Barry Gleeson, secretary of PSC Ealing West London. It said the call was supported by the UK Gaza Community, Stop the War Coalition West London, Amnesty UK Ealing and Ealing Trade Unions Council.
The letter urged councillors to begin a divestment process immediately and suggested that councillors watch the film The Voice of Hind Rajab or organise a dedicated screening, which it said would be “a mark of respect”.
Mr Gleeson wrote: “I felt compelled to write to you again, following our letter on the 10th September 2025, to remind you of your legal duty, and that of Ealing Council, to divest from companies complicit in Israel’s genocide and war crimes.”
Mr Gleeson added: “If you have a conscience you will commence the divestment process immediately as we proposed in our letter of the 10th Sep.”
The letter also referred to recommendations made in a United Nations inquiry into the situation in Gaza and said these applied to member states and, by implication, to local authorities such as Ealing Council.
The PSC Ealing West London branch has previously called on the council to review its investments to ensure they do not include companies it believes are involved in violations of international law.
Israel has rejected allegations of genocide and has said its military actions in Gaza are carried out in self-defence following attacks by Hamas.
