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| Where is HCC Pensioners money being spent? |
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Liberal Democrats on Hampshire County Council failed in a bid to prevent some of the Authority's multi-million pound pension fund to be invested in dubious commercial sectors, including the manufacture of high tar cigarettes, land mines and cluster bombs.
I a motion to the full County Council meeting at Winchester this week, Group Leader, Adrian Collett, argued for a review of investment policy to make sure that no further Pension fund money is invested in such an unethical way. He was supported by a series of other Liberal Democrat County Councillors, including Lee Dunsdon, Brian Dash, Alan Weeks and David Harrison.
Unfortunately, in the debate that ensued, a number of Tory Councillors chose to interpret the motion as an attack on local businesses and completely ignored the text of the motion which drew a very clear distinction between ethical and non-ethical investment policies.
The motion was defeated when put to the vote, with every Conservative present blocking the motion. The Tory Council Leader claimed that investment Managers were already under instruction to be careful with investments that might embarrass the Council, but could not guarantee that some of the funds do indeed go towards manufacture of items like land-mines and cluster bombs. He also claimed that it would be too difficult to administer such a prohibition, despite hearing evidence that many charities, commercial businesses and other authorities already adhere to ethical investment policies.
Councillor Harrison, Member for Marchwood and Totton, told them "It would not hurt the Conservative Party to support this motion. Your resistance demonstrates that the Tory party seems to have given up making the world a better place, whilst we Lib Dems are still in there pitching!" |
