{"id":306417,"date":"2025-07-31T11:06:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T11:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/306417\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T11:06:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T11:06:20","slug":"bolton-council-debates-when-the-pension-fund-invests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/306417\/","title":{"rendered":"Bolton Council debates when the pension fund invests"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Cllr Hanif Alli brought the motion forward at the recent meeting of the full council, and called for Bolton Council<\/a> to \u201creaffirm its commitment to ethical investment.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n He said that Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) has six per cent \u2013 about \u00a31.5b \u2013 of its portfolio invested in fossil fuel corporations and \u00a3241m in “companies who have profited from arms sale, such as the ongoing genocide in Gaza”.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: \u201cThe links between warfare, environmental destruction, and human suffering are undeniable.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cArmed conflict not only leads to mass civilian casualties \u2013 including children \u2013 but also inflicts severe ecological damage.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cFrom weapons production to battlefield destruction and carbon-intensive post-conflict reconstruction, the environmental toll is enormous.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Alli said that investment in fossil fuel and arms companies could expose the fund and by extension, the council, to \u201cfinancial risk, reputational damage and failure to meet future regulatory expectations.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Sue Haworth said that there was a precedent for challenging investments based on ethical concerns.\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: \u201cInvestment where we have trade embargos, investment where animal testing may be an issue, arms trading and warfare, so-called blood diamonds or slave metal issues, where species are endangered and so on.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n “We want to stay precise \u2013 precise as Greater Manchester Pension Fund stands accused of fiddling while the planet burns.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI find the GM Pension Fund often deflect questions and choose to describe how much money they are making for pension pots instead.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cSo I want to focus on that \u2013 on the divestment from fossil fuels issue.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Haworth criticised the motion for only listing councils with motions to divest from the arms trade \u2013 and not those from fossil fuels.\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: \u201cSouthwark, Waltham Forest, Cardiff, Lambeth and Islington \u2013 read out because they\u2019re making progress.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cGreater Manchester Pension Fund is at risk of receiving one of those inaction awards \u2013 I think that would be very embarrassing.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cEvery man is guilty of the good he did not do.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Haworth said that she\u00a0would not be supporting the motion because of the combination of divestment from fossil fuels and the arms trade.\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Martyn Cox said: \u201cI think this must be the third or maybe the fourth time I\u2019ve spoken in this council chamber against a motion that is trying to determine how the Greater Manchester Pension Fund invests on behalf of the enormous number of pensioners who are reliant on that fund.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019ve made this message clear before \u2013 we should not and never should play politics with people\u2019s pensions.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI suspect you\u2019ve not the foggiest idea on how to get a decent return for the pensioners who are dependent on this fund.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe should not be pursuing our own narrow political aims at the expense of pensioners throughout the North West.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Addressing the industries targeted by the motion, Cllr Cox referenced an earlier declaration of friendship for the Ukrainian city of Sumy and Polish city of Przemysla.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: \u201cAre we really going to pass a motion of friendship for Ukraine and Poland and on the same night pass a motion saying, \u2018Well, we might be your friends but we\u2019re not prepared to support you, we\u2019re not prepared to defend you.\u2019\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis motion looks like it\u2019s been written by Putin!\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cLook what Cllr Alli has put in his motion \u2013 some of these weapons might be going to Ukraine \u2013 well I hope they are!\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cBecause they\u2019re under attack from one of the most vicious dictators the world has ever seen.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Cox said that even if we reach net zero tomorrow \u2013 fossil fuels will still be needed to extract minerals and create products.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: \u201cWho do you think is going to produce batteries if we don\u2019t have mineral extraction? Answer that \u2013 how are you going to do it?\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s impossible.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cHalf the products in this room have been manufactured using carbon \u2013 the idea that we are going to get rid of carbon entirely is ridiculous and it will impoverish us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Robert Morrisey said that while he agreed with the ethos behind the motion, he couldn\u2019t support it.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: \u201cIn my opinion, divesting from fossil fuels<\/a> is common sense, for the planet, for the members.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Morrisey also challenged the idea that ethical investing means \u201chigh risk, low returns \u2013 that\u2019s not the case,\u201d he said, \u201cand when it comes to divesting from any complicity in genocide, I completely agree.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cHowever, the motion calls for divesting from all investment in the arms industry and I don\u2019t think \u2013 especially with what\u2019s been discussed today \u2013 that that is acceptable.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cNot being able to assist in the defence of Ukraine \u2013 the defence of human rights, human dignity globally \u2013 I don\u2019t think is acceptable.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Morrisey added that he thought that they should not be calling for the divestment of two \u201ccontroversial industries\u201d, but instead for \u201ca direct and progressive ethical stance\u201d from the fund.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said that Bolton Labour had submitted a motion calling for this to be discussed at the next meeting.\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Nadim Muslim said that divesting from defence would risk losing skilled jobs in Bolton and \u201csend a dangerous signal to our partners and allies\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n He added: \u201cThe sort of demonising of defence also starts to stray into the realm of international conflicts \u2013 something I fear was part of or maybe actually the real reason for this motion.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t surprised that the protestors who are sitting upstairs \u2013 very quietly today I must add \u2013 were also handing out leaflets in support of Cllr Alli\u2019s motion.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cNow, they are here for a reason, because in the motion it does specifically mention Palestine.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cSo I think it might be a bit of a guise to bring this motion forward \u2013 dress it up as an environmental one \u2013 but it actually has an international slant to it.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAnd as I said before, those sorts of debates are best left outside of this council chamber.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Nick Peel said: \u201cYou know Cllr Muslim, you\u2019re really going to struggle if you stick with this line that you\u2019re not going to talk about anything outside of Britain \u2013 because you\u2019ve talked about two things outside of Britain already tonight.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou\u2019ve backed yourself into a corner and you\u2019re going to increasingly struggle \u2013 that\u2019s my prediction \u2013 I bet you wish you hadn\u2019t said it now.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cListening to Cllr Muslim and Cllr Cox, it\u2019s very clear that they wrote their speeches under the impression that this group was going to support this motion.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cOur stance is quite clear \u2013 divesting from fossil fuel investments \u2013 I\u2019ve always taken a very pragmatic approach to this.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think it can be achieved over a long period of time \u2013 I don\u2019t think it necessarily has to be a negative thing.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou\u2019re absolutely right, those who have said the primary purpose of the pension fund is to look after the funds of those people who have paid in \u2013 and give them the best possible return.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThat is absolutely right \u2013 and that is the first duty of the pension fund<\/a> \u2013 but that is not, as Cllr Morrisey said, a never-say-never scenario.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI am not going to support a motion that seeks to damage the UK defence industry.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Have a story? Get in touch at eoin.mccaul@newsquest.co.uk<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Peel said it was recently announced that the Government would be investing in major companies in Horwich and Bolton in the EV and armed forces industries and they would be supporting this.\n<\/p>\n

\n He added: \u201cWhat the motion does is it seriously damages this country\u2019s ability to play a full role in NATO \u2013 and NATO has a full role in providing protection in the world.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe UK armed forces have not been on an offensive footing for some time \u2013 they are humanitarian in much of what they do in trouble spots and dangerous places around the world \u2013 often being there as peacekeepers to save lives.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey need equipment to do that, they need a defence industry to do that.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAbsolutely yes \u2013 if there\u2019s a direct involvement in atrocities or genocide \u2013 there\u2019s no argument.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cPolitics will always come into it, Cllr Muslim, politics will always play a part in this.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cBecause I\u2019m sure you wouldn\u2019t want to be part of anything that backed modern-day slavery, anything that backed genocide, anything that backed drug cartels.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m sure that wouldn\u2019t be a political statement according to you, but to everybody else it would be a political statement.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n He reiterated that an alternative motion had been put in for the next full council meeting.\n<\/p>\n

\n READ MORE:\u00a0Smithills: Bolton Council rejects petition for Deene Road adoption<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

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\n Cllr Alli said: \u201cI would like to thank all the Labour councillors for what you\u2019ve said and all your contributions to this motion \u2013 I actually agree with everything you\u2019ve said.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI understand that in the wording, it does read like it\u2019s against Ukraine, but I can guarantee to you \u2013 the Green Party, myself and Bolton Green Party \u2013 we\u2019re all with Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m going to carry on with the motion but I want people to understand that the Green Party and myself \u2013 we are with Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s written in that manner and I get how people have read it \u2013 but really it was arms to regimes that commit war crimes in those places.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAnd as we know, war is complicated \u2013 the war in Ukraine is complicated, arms are coming from all over the show.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey\u2019re being sold \u2013 even our arms and NATO arms are being sold \u2013 to other parties that are then committing war crimes.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The council voted against the motion with five votes in favour, 47 against and one abstention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cllr Hanif Alli brought the motion forward at the recent meeting of the full council, and called for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3093],"tags":[51,474,2499,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-306417","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-personal-finance","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114947528380427575","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}