Croydon (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Croydon Labour councillors staged a walkout amid growing backlash over the council’s alleged investments in Israeli arms firms, citing ethical concerns.
Just as a campaign delegation was set to visit political officials in Thornton Heath over the weekend, a “mystery illness” crept through their ranks.
On Saturday, a mystery disease outbreak prevented all three of Thornton Heath’s Labour council members from attending their monthly surgery to listen to constituents’ concerns.
This is regrettable, and they hope that all three of them recover quickly. We are certain that their absence from the Sally Army’s base on Thornton Heath High Street had nothing to do with a planned rally of Croydon Divest, a group of borough-wide residents who believe there is no justification for Croydon public funds to be used to support the Israeli military.
The senior Labour councillor in charge of the council’s pension committee is Callton Young. Karen Jewitt, his ward colleague, is also a member of the pension committee.
Instead of responding to the public query, Councillor Young stood up during a Town Hall meeting in April and promised to meet with Croydon Divest to discuss the council’s continued investment in weapons companies that supply the Israel Defence Force.
Young has refused to attend any meetings, even after hundreds of letters endorsing Croydon Divest were delivered to other council members throughout the borough.
Therefore, on Saturday, Croydon Divest members went to meet the councillor on his own patch. But all of a sudden, he arrived looking quite ill.
“You might think councillors would be careful to honour pledges made to groups of Croydon residents. But it seems this may not be so,”
a spokesperson for Croydon Divest said.
The justification offered thus far for Croydon’s ongoing engagement in the armaments trade has drawn a lot of criticism. Croydon Labour fulfilled their electoral promise to cut its ties with the tobacco industry in 2014. Croydon Divest is curious as to why the council asserts that it is currently unable to execute a comparable divestiture on principle.
Croydon Divest claims that they have encountered a wall of silence in response to all of their correspondence, phone calls, and emails to Councillor Young and other members of the pension committee.
“When Callton Young agreed to meet members of Croydon Divest, I was pleasantly surprised,”
said Ita Gallagher, the Croydon Divest member who raised the matter at the most recent full council meeting.
“I never imagined, however, that Councillor Young would renege on that agreement or refuse to respond to my messages requesting a date for the meeting. I therefore planned to ask him in person, but it appears all three Labour councillors for Thornton Heath were so ill on Saturday they had to cancel their monthly surgery.
If I were a suspicious person I’d say it looks like they’re trying to avoid us.”
Green Party councillor Ria Patel, who was with the group, said that it’s appalling that, despite promising to meet with Croydon Divest group back in April, Callton Young continues to dodge any conversation with them.
Croydon is actively aiding genocide through its pension fund, and Croydon Labour do not seem to care. It’s disgusting.
One resident was nearly in tears because she turned up to speak to her representatives and couldn’t.
Ferial Saada, a Palestinian living in Croydon, described Young’s no-show as “a disgraceful failure to engage with our community”.
Saada said:
“For months, our coalition has called on Croydon Council to divest from weapons and arms companies, yet the council continues to refuse to uphold human rights, remaining complicit in the genocide against Palestinians.”
Callton Young should demonstrate courage and have this crucial conversation with us. And Croydon Council must Divest Now.
Croydon Divest has calculated that the council has significant investments in Israeli state bonds and Israeli arms companies, such as Elbit Systems.
“Other, ethical investments are available. They are hiding from the scrutiny of the community,”
a Croydon Divest member said.
This is not democracy.
Why did Croydon Labour councillors withdraw from the arms investment debate?
Within the Labour Party and among council members, the topic of divesting from armaments corporations associated with Israel is quite controversial. Some council members believe the campaign is anti-Israel or politically divisive because it supports the boycott. Because of this, people are reluctant to publicly support divestment proposals for fear of internal party strife and prejudice charges.
Council members have suggested that current investments adhere to legal and fiduciary requirements by referencing statutory commitments and current responsible investment standards. Calls for divestment are complicated by the argument that armaments corporations that supply “brave democratic states” like Israel or Ukraine are moral investments.
According to reports, council members have “done a runner” or steered clear of public discussion on the matter, presumably in order to avoid demonstrations, contentious altercations, or political backlash from residents who hold opposing opinions.