ACTION: ask Edinburgh City Councillors to support nuclear weapons divestment

Did you know that City of Edinburgh City Council supports the nuclear ban treaty, yet Lothian Pension Fund invests millions in nuclear weapons producers?

Lothian Pension Fund fund’s members include councillors of the City of Edinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothian and West Lothian, as well employees of a range of other local public and charitable bodies. The fund holds shares worth over £100 million in nuclear weapons companies (click here for our briefing sheet on the fund).

Edinburgh City Council’s actions should be aligned with its support for the treaty. That means that Lothian Pension Fund must stop investing in the nuclear weapons industry. Midlothian Council already supports divestment.

What can you do?

  • If you live in Edinburgh, write to your local councillors to explain why Lothian Pension Fund should divest from nuclear weapons and ask them to put a resolution to council that calls on the fund to divest (click here for a copy of the resolution or see the text copied below). 
    Use our template letter or compose your own. You can tell them that Midlothian council has already passed a resolution calling on the fund to divest.
    You can find out who your local councillors are at www.writetothem.com and send the letter via email directly from the site.
  • Encourage friends and family in Edinburgh to do the same.
  • Share this page on social media using the hashtag #NaeCashForNukes and follow the campaign on Twitter: @NukeDivestScot

Resolution calling on Lothian Pension Fund to Divest from Nuclear Weapons

This Council:

  1. Notes that Edinburgh City Council is a member of Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) and Mayors for Peace, two international bodies that have been working for almost 4 decades to promote multilateral nuclear disarmament and a more peaceful world.
  2. Notes that Edinburgh City Council passed a resolution formally supporting the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in June 2019 as part of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Cities Appeal.
  3. Notes that Lothian Pension Fund manages the pension contributions of Council employees and is known to hold shares in companies that are involved in the production or maintenance of nuclear weapons or their delivery systems, including companies that undertake work on the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons programme.
  4. Is concerned that Lothian Pension Fund’s investments in nuclear weapons producers are at odds with Council’s support for the TPNW and Council’s opposition to Trident renewal.
  5. Is further concerned about the financial risk that these investments present to Lothian Pension Fund’s members. Nuclear weapons are now prohibited under international law and companies that continue to be involved their production face damage to their reputation and business, making them a poor investment choice.
  6. Calls on Lothian Pension fund to work towards eliminating current and future financial exposure to companies that are involved in the production or maintenance of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems, giving due regard to fiduciary duty.
  7. Asks the Chief Executive to write to the convenor of Edinburgh City Council’s pensions committee to urge them to take full consideration of this resolution.