Legislation aimed at stopping councils from boycotting Israeli goods is likely to return to Parliament next week, the Telegraph has learnt.
In June, Michael Gove, the Communities Secretary, introduced a Bill banning all public bodies from imposing their own boycott or divestment campaigns on foreign countries and territories.
The legislation was promised in the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto after a series of local councils backed the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanction) movement against Israel in public procurement contracts or pension schemes.
In the wake of an upsurge in anti-Israel protests following Hamas’s terror attack on the country and Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip, the Bill is shortly due to move to its next stage in the Commons. The Telegraph understands that on Thursday, the Government is likely to announce that the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill will have its report stage the following week.
The third reading of the Bill is expected to happen after the King’s Speech in November.
‘Pursuing foreign policy agenda’
Making the case for the legislation in the summer, Mr Gove said that it was “simply wrong that public bodies have been wasting taxpayers’ time and money pursuing their own foreign policy agenda”.
He added: “The UK must have a consistent approach to foreign policy, set by UK Government.”
As well as undermining UK foreign policy, he said councils supporting the BDS movement led “to appalling anti-Semitic rhetoric and abuse”.
However, some Conservative MPs have previously expressed concern about the Bill.
In June, Alicia Kearns, the chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, said that while she supported the “principle that taxpayers’ money should not be politicised and should not be used to undermine the Government’s foreign policy”, she disagreed with the decision to “specifically name Israel on the face of the Bill”. She said: “We should not do country-specific legislation as it undermines our foreign policy.
“I also worry whether this will undermine community cohesion.”
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader, meanwhile said he was worried that it could stop public bodies from refusing to buy Chinese-made goods.
“We have to make sure nothing gets in the way of stopping slave labour from Xinjiang being used in supply chains,” he said.
The Government has however insisted that the Bill contains exemptions allowing public bodies to boycott goods where modern slavery has been involved.
The return of the Bill could put Labour in a tricky position.
‘Deeply flawed’
While the party has been steadfast in support of Israel following Hamas’s attack and is opposed to the BDS movement, in July it said the Bill was “deeply flawed”.
Other organisations have said that the legislation is a curb on free expression or could open up new divisions.
Earlier in the year, the Union of Jewish Students announced it was opposing the Bill.
A motion passed by the group said: “UJS reaffirms its support for the democratic right to non-violently protest and opposes the Government’s proposed boycott Bill, which is a curtailment of that right, as well as presenting a risk to British Jewish communities and a set-back to Israeli-Palestinian peace.”
Before 2019, Leicester city council, Swansea city council and Gwynedd council all passed motions to boycott produce from “illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, until such time as Israel complies with international law and withdraws from Palestinian-occupied territories”.
