One of the bills that will now not become law because of the snap election is the anti-boycott bill, which would have prevented local councils, universities and other public bodies from making ethical investment and spending decisions.
The main aim was to stop councils and others cutting ties with companies involved in Israeli crimes, but the bill would also have stopped divestment from fossil fuels where oil and gas companies are majority-owned or controlled by foreign states.
…On 3 July, the government’s anti-boycott bill began its journey through parliament with a vote (286 to 70). The Labour party abstained, despite damning legal advice it had commissioned from barrister Richard Hermer KC.
Promised in the 2019 Tory manifesto, the bill says that public authorities, including local councils, universities and cultural institutions, cannot allow their financial or purchasing decisions to be influenced by their disapproval of the actions of a foreign state –…
