Amendment ‘wrecked’ Labour’s fossil fuels calls
Labour councillors have accused Tories of ‘wrecking’ a motion calling on the West Sussex pensions fund to stop investing in fossil fuels.
The motion was put forward by Labour leader Caroline Baxter on Friday.
But she then withdrew it after an amendment from Conservative Bob Lanzer threatened to ‘render it completely pointless’.
The motion had called on the pensions committee to ‘take the necessary steps to divest all of its investments from fossil fuel companies’.
But the amendment called on the committee to carry on as is and noted ‘the divestment from fossil fuel companies that the fund has already achieved’.
The removal of the motion did not go down well with campaigners in the public gallery, who made their displeasure known, prompting a brief suspension.
The pension fund is paid into by around 87,000 employees from 200 employers and is administered by the council’s pensions committee, acting as trustee on behalf of all members equally.
This was not the first time a motion calling for divestment had been tabled. In March 2021, Mr Lanzer said: “There’s a difference between investing in fossil fuels and investing in fossil fuel companies which happen to have a dynamic green agenda.”
After the meeting, Mrs Baxter said: “I cannot say how disappointed I am with this outcome. I had reached out to all parties to try and build a political consensus, with the Liberal Democrats agreeing to second the motion – sadly the Conservatives would not engage and have done everything they can to destroy the strength of our motion.”