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PSC activists accused of ‘disregard for democracy’ after disrupting Redbridge Council meeting
Local PSC branch had urged supporters to gather outside Redbridge Town Hall in north London
Activists from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) have been accused of showing a “complete disregard for democracy” after they disrupted a Redbridge Council meeting in response to the rejection of a motion on pension fund divestment.
The local PSC branch had urged supporters to gather outside Redbridge Town Hall in north London ahead of Thursday’s meeting, which was set to discuss a broader motion on ethical investment.
This proposal, put forward by the Labour Group, was not focused solely on claims about funds linked to Israel.
Leaflets distributed to supporters stated: “These dirty tactics will not stop us from our mission. We will not stop until Redbridge divests from Israel and any companies linked to Israel’s war crimes.”
However, the meeting was disrupted for around 10 minutes when activists forced their way onto the chamber floor, chanting “Blood on your hands” and making loud wailing noises.
Security guards eventually escorted the PSC activists out of the building and the meeting resumed.
Lloyd Dudridge, Labour cabinet member for children, young people, and education, posted video footage of the disruption on X. Dudridge, who is Jewish, wrote: “Tonight’s council meeting in Redbridge. It started with this video. Then we had the leader of the opposition say that Labour MPs are compromised by donors close to Israel. Then they walked out when we were debating Broadmead Bridge and Thames Water.”
Jewish News understands that parents from a local school were inside the hall to hear a discussion on their children’s education.
One council source, who asked to remain anonymous, commented: “These activists showed they have a complete disregard for democracy. Their actions were embarrassing. They must realise they are doing absolutely nothing to help the Palestinians. It’s all very selfish as far as I am concerned.”
The PSC has been intensively lobbying councillors—particularly from the Green Party and other pro-Gaza independents—to gain support for hardline divestment policies.
However, recent government reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) mean that individual borough councils can no longer quickly divest from specific equities on their own. The London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV) requires a “critical mass” of agreement among member boroughs to trigger blanket asset exclusions, creating a significant bottleneck for localized Green policies.
Because assets are pooled across all 32 London local authorities in the LCIV mega-fund, individual councils cannot unilaterally block specific stocks. To exclude assets based on ethics, geopolitics, or human rights, a substantial coalition of member funds must demand the same restriction.
Four boroughs—including Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets—have already passed council motions or changed investment strategies to restrict investments in fossil fuels, arms, or entities violating international law. Other boroughs, such as Lewisham and Barking and Dagenham, have taken similar steps but face the same legal hurdles as Hackney.
The Hackney Green Party promised to “immediately” divest funds ahead of their local election win in May. But five months on, they have not done so.
At the latest Hackney council meeting, Councillor Izzy Castello-Cortes, Green Party chair of the borough’s Pensions Committee, was asked: “As of today, you haven’t divested anything from any companies involved in Israel’s ‘genocide’?”
Cortes replied, “As of today, we have taken some big steps in terms of looking into this.”
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