BRIGHTON & HOVE CITY COUNCIL TAKES A VITAL STEP TOWARDS DIVESTMENT FROM ISRAEL’S GENOCIDE IN GAZA
On 13 October 2025, Brighton & Hove City Council passed a landmark motion, committing the Council to take the first vital step towards divesting from Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
After months of campaigning by local Palestine Solidary Campaign members, Brighton & Hove City Council has overwhelmingly voted for a motion recognising its legal obligation not to contribute to Israel’s grave violations of international law (36 in favour, 5 against). The motion commits the Council to conduct a review of its investments in companies complicit in Israel’s genocide, military occupation and apartheid in Palestine. It also commits the Council to demand that the East Sussex Pension Fund, of which it is a major partner, carry out a similar review of its ‘exposure to complicity’. The Council will call upon other local councils within the East Sussex Pension Scheme to join them in this demand.
The motion follows the publication of a major legal opinion, commissioned by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which concluded that all UK local councils must take immediate action to divest from companies enabling or profiting from Israel’s crimes, such as arms companies supplying Israel with weapons used in its genocide, and companies involved in the financing and construction of Israel’s illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land. They must put in place policies to ensure no future investments can be made in these companies (link to the opinion document).
While a welcome step forward, the motion falls short of committing the Council to divest its own funds, or push for divestment by East Sussex Pension Fund, from these companies once the review is completed.
The review must be completed urgently and should document investments in companies complicit in Israel’s violations of international law across Palestine. The review must lead to divestment from these companies, and the implementation of policies to ensure investments in these companies cannot be made in the future. We will maintain the pressure until this happens.