Last Monday the Commons gave a second reading to the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill. The purpose of this bill is to give legislative effect to a commitment made in the 2019 Conservative election manifesto Viz.
“We will ban public bodies from imposing their own direct boycotts, disinvestment or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries”
I supported that commitment: Of course, whilst individuals and private organisations can suit themselves, I believe that foreign policy is the preserve of the Government and that we should not have local authorities or other public bodies pursuing their own foreign policies by boycotting countries of which they disapprove. It should only be for the UK Government, with parliamentary support, to deploy sanctions.
In the days preceding the second reading debate I received a large correspondence divided equally between those asking me to vote against the bill, and those urging me to vote for it. In the event, I abstained, not because constituent’s opinions were equally divided, but because I have grave reservations about the way that the Bill goes about implementing the commitment, though not sufficient to enable me, in conscience, to vote with Labour against my own party manifesto.
I will need to see how the bill is amended at committee and report stages before reconsidering how I will vote at third reading.
Clauses 1 & 2 of the bill deny public bodies the power to boycott or disinvest. Clause 3 however, empowers a minister to make exceptions, that is, to name countries against which public authorities are able to implement boycotts.
But Clause 3, part 7 specifically excludes Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Occupied Golan Heights from this exception-making power. The message being sent is ‘these are places, alone in all the world, whatever they do, however bad it might be, we will never allow economic sanctions against them’
Were Clause 3, part 7 to be left out, the bill would still achieve its objective of preventing public authorities meddling in foreign policy and it would prevent them implementing sanctions, including against Israel.
Leaving the clause as it is however, sends a powerful message to Israel that we give them an absolutely blank cheque for their continued occupation of Palestinian territories. This is at a time of high tension when we have the most right-wing government of Israel ever.
We still adhere to the policy of a ‘two-state solution’. But the policy of Israel has been to accelerate the building of illegal settlements in the West Bank of the Jordan to exclude the geographical possibility of any future coherent unified Palestinian State.
I support Israel as the only real democracy in the region and I support its right to defend itself. Its present policy however, is a block in the way of the peace process. The entirely gratuitous and unnecessary message we’ve inserted into this bill has no proper place at this time.
Perhaps even more bizarre, clause 4 of the bill makes it an offence for a person subject to clause 1 (presumably the leader of a council or other public body) to publish a statement saying that they disagree with it, or what they would do were they not subject to it.
Gadzooks! We only recently passed legislation guaranteeing freedom of speech, yet here we are introducing a vicious restriction on it. Of course, we have to obey the law but surely we have to remain entitled to say we disagree with it and what we might do had it not been implemented.
I’m an optimist: I’m confident that the Bill won’t get to third reading without being thoroughly amended.