Brighton Council Leader Demands Pension Fund Divests From West Bank Settlement Companies
The East Sussex Pension Fund holds approximately £29.8 million in companies on the UN list of entities operating in illegal West Bank settlements. Image: Unsplash
Brighton and Hove City Council leader Bella Sankey has written to the chair of the East Sussex Pension Committee demanding immediate divestment from companies operating in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The letter, sent to Councillor Georgia Taylor on 18 September 2026, follows the UK government's landmark sanctions announcement on 8 September and argues that with the fund's exposure already known, waiting is neither required nor advisable.
The East Sussex Pension Fund manages pension arrangements for Brighton and Hove City Council staff, alongside East Sussex County Council and several other local authorities. Brighton and Hove has no direct control over the fund's investment policy that sits with East Sussex County Council's five elected Pension Committee members.
What the UK Government Did
On 8 September 2026, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced in the House of Commons that the UK would introduce a comprehensive new sanctions regime targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The measures, taken jointly with France and Canada, include a ban on imports of all goods produced in the settlements and sanctions on companies and individuals providing services to settlement expansion, including financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and advertising.
Miliband said the UK government believed the Israeli occupation of the West Bank as a whole was unlawful, going beyond the previous position that only the settlements themselves were illegal. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the action was aimed "not at the Israeli people" but at keeping alive the possibility of a two-state solution.
"I do not believe the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets."
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, House of Commons, 8 September 2026
The Pension Fund's Exposure
Brighton and Hove City Council's Cabinet was told in February 2026 that the East Sussex Pension Fund holds approximately £29.8 million 0.58% of its total assets in companies identified by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as operating in illegal West Bank settlements. The OHCHR list contains 158 companies.
Primary exposures on the UN list
Booking Holdings Inc., Airbnb Inc., Expedia Group Inc., alongside Israeli banks, telecommunications firms and Altice International Ltd
How the assets are managed
From April 2026 the fund moved to the Border to Coast Pension Partnership pool. The fund's passive equity strategies currently exclude fossil fuels, controversial weapons and UN Global Compact violations but none of these exclusions cover the OHCHR-listed companies
Brighton and Hove's position
The council has no control over East Sussex Pension Fund investment policy. It has no representation on the Pension Committee, which is made up entirely of East Sussex County Council elected members
What Bella Sankey Is Demanding
Councillor Sankey's letter argues that the fund is in a stronger position than most because it already has visibility of its exact exposure through the UN list. She says that makes decisive action both possible and necessary, and that Border to Coast's response to the government's sanctions announcement was inadequate.
"The statement was disappointingly non-committal in terms of reviewing exposures, contained no acknowledgement of the UN list, and gave no indication that they intend to strengthen human rights due diligence. This simply is not good enough. As the investment pool responsible for managing our assets, Border to Coast's position has direct implications for the ethical standing and long-term security of our members' pensions."
Councillor Bella Sankey, Leader, Brighton and Hove City Council
The letter points to Norges Bank Investment Management, New Zealand's sovereign wealth fund and the Irish sovereign wealth fund as having already excluded companies named on the UN list, and argues East Sussex should follow suit and press Border to Coast to do the same.
Councillor Sankey also warned that waiting for further government guidance does not protect the fund from risk, citing analysis that the material impact of current holdings could affect investors regardless of whether final regulatory guidance has been issued.
A Year of Pressure
This is not the first time Brighton and Hove has pushed on this issue. In October 2025 the council passed a motion requesting a full report on the pension fund's exposure to companies on the OHCHR list. That report came back to Cabinet in February 2026, revealing the £29.8 million figure. At the same Cabinet meeting, Councillor Sankey announced she would be writing to the Pension Committee to demand divestment. The UK government's September 2026 sanctions have now sharpened that demand significantly.
The full background to the council's position on pension fund exposure is set out in the February 2026 Cabinet report. The East Sussex Pension Board meets four times a year; its meetings are listed at democracy.eastsussex.gov.uk.
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