Considering everything that has happened since October 7, did nobody in the UK’s Tory government stop to think that, perhaps, this piece of legislation is now in bad taste?

It has been hard to collect information on this Bill because nobody in the media seems to have covered it. I wonder why.

Fortunately the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians has a bit of context:

Yes indeed.

The Bill – which still has to pass through the House of Lords – now explicitly demands that local authorities may not boycott products from a country that currently stands accused of genocide and may soon be a convicted, genocidal, rogue state.

That can’t be right.

This Site has discussed the situation previously, and some of what I wrote then bears repeating:

The innocently-titled Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill … specifically forbids public bodies like local councils from taking into account human rights abuses committed by foreign governments when making decisions, including on procurement of goods and services.

You see how harmful this legislation is, in the light of Israel’s activities since October 7, 2023?

The Bill specifically forbids such public bodies from ever refusing to take goods and services from Israel, the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and/or the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, no matter what atrocities are committed there.

Some have suggested a simple way around the issue:

Personally, I think this would lay any councils following such advice open to accusations of boycott by the back door – for example, if they could not explain why they would not take Israeli goods that appear to be the most economical option.

Perhaps a better way forward would be simply to rename the legislation.

Why not call it the UK (Unconditional Support for Genocide) Bill?

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