More than 1,000 councillors from across the UK have signed the Pledge for Palestine ahead of the crucial May local elections, placing the Israel–Gaza war and council pension fund investments at the centre of Britain’s political debate.
The campaign, launched in December by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), calls on elected representatives to “uphold the rights of the Palestinian people” and “stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid”.
According to organisers, the pledge commits councillors to ensure their local authorities are not complicit in alleged human rights violations. It includes a promise to “ensure their councils are not complicit, including through divestment of pension funds from complicit companies”.
So far, 1,028 councillors have signed, vowing to scrutinise local government pension schemes that reportedly invest billions in firms linked to Israel. Estimates suggest UK local authorities have invested more than £12.2 billion in companies with connections to Israel, including defence contractors supplying equipment used in Gaza.
Thirty-one councils have already passed motions or issued statements backing divestment from firms deemed complicit.
The pledge has gained its strongest backing among the Green Party, with 345 signatories. A further 338 Labour councillors and 104 Liberal Democrat representatives have also signed.
Councillors from the SNP, Plaid Cymru, Scottish Greens, Conservatives, local parties and independents are among those supporting the campaign.
Zoë Garbett, a Green councillor in Hackney, said: “We’ve all seen the devastation caused by Israel’s genocide in Gaza, but none have felt it more deeply than Hackney residents I’ve spoken to who have lost family members in Palestine.
“The council took a stand against South African apartheid and now it’s time we make a similar stand for the Palestinians”.
Dr Hosnieh Djafari-Marbini, an independent councillor in Oxford, said: “So many politicians have voiced their concerns about the Israeli crimes we have witnessed in recent times but very few have taken concrete action”, adding that the campaign “highlights a candidate’s honesty, integrity, and consistency when it comes to application of international law”.
The issue is expected to play a decisive role in the 7 May local elections, where more than 4,850 council seats across England are being contested.
Campaigners argue that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s initial reluctance to call for a ceasefire alienated sections of Labour’s traditional support base, contributing to electoral setbacks against pro-Palestine independent candidates in 2024.
Labour MP Richard Burgon warned: “Keir Starmer’s refusal to stand up for the rights of the Palestinian people is wrong and has already badly hurt Labour at the polls. We saw that in the last general election, and I fear we will see it again in the May local elections”.
He urged the party leadership to heed members “rightly demanding action against Israel’s genocide and war crimes and do so before even more damage is done and we lose more hardworking, principled councillors”.
The wider electoral push is being coordinated by Vote Palestine 2026, a coalition including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Palestinian Youth Movement Britain, The Muslim Vote, the British Palestinian Committee and the Palestinian Forum in Britain.
Dan Iley-Williamson of the PSC said: “The mass movement for Palestine – which has brought millions onto Britain’s streets – is not going away. Vote Palestine will take our demands into the May elections and deliver a message to those seeking office: If you want our votes, stand up for Palestine”.
The campaign is active in more than a dozen areas, including London, Newcastle, Birmingham and Sheffield.
In London, where every council seat is up for election, Labour faces particular pressure in boroughs such as Hackney, where Green and independent candidates have largely signed the pledge, while only a minority of Labour councillors have done so.