“If passed, this dangerous new law will prevent public bodies from participation in political boycotts like those that helped to end apartheid in South Africa.”
By Peter Leary, Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Last week, the Tories announced their plans to bring the toxic anti-boycott bill back to the House of Commons in the new year. If passed, this dangerous new law will prevent public bodies – including local councils, universities, and public sector pension funds – from making ethical choices about spending and investment and prevent their participation in political boycotts like those that helped to end apartheid in South Africa. On Wednesday 10 January MPs will vote on the bill for the final time before it proceeds to the House of Lords. Labour must take a clear stand and vote against this Tory attack on democratic rights.
The government’s decision to bring the anti-boycott bill back to the House of Commons starkly demonstrates its contempt for democratic principles. Although the bill threatens to undermine all those who use boycott and divestment tactics to campaign for progressive causes – for instance, against climate change or for human rights around the world – it is clear both from ministerial statements and the contents of the bill itself that the main target of the anti-boycott bill is campaigns in support of Palestinian rights. The bill even singles out Israel alongside the ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’ and ‘Occupied Golan Heights’, by name, uniquely giving Israel and its illegal settlements permanent protection from public sector boycotts not afforded to any other state. It requires that Israel and the territory it occupies illegally be treated in the same way, a break with decades of international consensus and UN resolutions.
These measures are clearly out of step with public feeling. In recent months, demonstrations against Israel’s campaign of bombing and ground attacks against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have been some of the largest political mobilisations in British history, representing the biggest protest movement in Britain since the 2003 war on Iraq. Evidence from opinion polls suggests that the public as a whole agrees with the marchers, with as many as three-in-four backing their central demand for a ceasefire. According to at least one poll, this includes a massive 89% of Labour voters. Faced with the ongoing horrors that Israel is inflicting – collective punishment, the forced displacement of populations, and the deliberate killing of thousands of civilians and targeting of civilian infrastructure including schools and hospitals – Palestinians must be able to call upon people on conscience to take peaceful action in their time of dire need. We must insist that MPs vote against this bill and protect our right to campaign democratically in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Unfortunately, the Labour Party leadership seems unwilling to criticise Israel for its crimes against the Palestinian people and there is a real danger that this same attitude could shape the party’s less than forthright opposition to the anti-boycott bill. The last time the bill was voted on in July the leadership ordered Labour MPs to abstain. Since then, opposition to the bill has grown both inside and outside of parliament. An existing coalition of more than 70 civil organisations – including trade unions, charities, NGOs, faith, climate justice, human rights, cultural, campaigning, and solidarity organisations – have come together to sign the Right to Boycott statement and collectively call on the government to immediately halt this bill, and on opposition parties to oppose it. In addition, the Scottish government, the Labour government in Wales, and the Trades Union Congress have all expressed their opposition to this dangerous Conservative proposal.
Previous statements made by Labour front bench spokespeople indicate that the party will vote against the bill this time around, but we cannot take this for granted. Any failure to adequately oppose the anti-boycott bill would be at odds with longstanding Labour principles. Many are rightly proud of the Labour movement’s historic support for boycott and divestment campaigns including against apartheid in South Africa. Despite the efforts of Margaret Thatcher’s Tory government at the time, many Labour councils were part of that struggle. Indeed, when Nelson Mandela visited Britain in 1998, he said, ‘The knowledge that local authorities…were banning apartheid products…and that the universities…had cut their links – was a great inspiration to us in our struggle.’In the run-up to 10 January, we must do everything possible to maintain the pressure on MPs.
Saturday 6 January will be a national ‘day of action’ for Palestine as part of the campaign against Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, and this will be an opportunity to highlight the imminent threat posed by the anti-boycott bill. In the meantime, everyone can write to their MP with just a click using the model letter supplied by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign,
Millions of people throughout Britain care deeply about human rights and the environment. They expect the same high standards from public authorities and from political parties too. The Labour Party at every level should make clear its opposition to the Tories’ anti-boycott bill and vote against it on 10 January.
- WRITE TO YOUR MP: Oppose the anti-boycott bill
- Peter Leary is a Campaigns Officer at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
- The full Right to Boycott statement and list of signatories can be found here.
- You can follow the Palestine Solidarity Campaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
