Open Letter: “New government procurement guidelines an attack on democratic princples”

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ollowing news that Matthew Hancock, Cabinet Office minister, is set to announce new regulations prohibiting the boycott of Israeli goods by publicly funded bodies, various groups at the University of Warwick have penned an open letter describing their discontent. The ban will affect local councils, the NHS and, significantly, university student unions.

The letter, signed by nine student groups at Warwick, urges the government to reconsider the new measures, which are widely perceived to be an attack on freedom of expression and consumer activism.

Charlie Hindhaugh, Education Officer at Warwick SU, said:

“It is completely wrong that the Government is attempting to limit the democratic power of people to make ethical decisions through public bodies. The student movement has a long history of progressive campaigning of which ethical boycotts have been an important and successful tool. For example, from the boycott of apartheid South Africa, to more recently the Fossil Free campaign which successfully campaigned for Warwick to divest from fossil fuels.”

Open Letter

We condemn the government’s new procurement guidelines banning all ‘ethical’ boycotts of goods and services by bodies as varied as councils and student unions. These guidelines are a significant threat to freedom of expression yet were imposed on democratically elected bodies by central government without a parliamentary debate or vote. The deceitful imposition of these guidelines on local and student communities amounts to an attack on democratic principles and prevents a vital form of peaceful protest.

Historically, local authorities and student unions have acted as driving forces for political change. One of the most famous examples of this, the actions of councils and student bodies against apartheid South Africa, would now be outlawed. The ability to protest is crucial to the health of democratic society as it ensures the powerful and their allies can be legitimately held to account; these changes threaten this right.

Of particular concern is the potential for these guidelines to prevent local action to tackle climate change. Attempts of councils and student bodies to divest from fossil fuels in favour of renewable energy sources could now attract ‘severe penalties.’ This includes the University of Warwick’s commitment to divest from fossil fuels, which was won last year following a long grassroots student campaign. This is staggering hypocrisy from a government who signed the Paris climate change agreement in December yet are on track to miss their 2020 renewable energy targets. The effects of global temperature rises will be catastrophic and will fall heaviest on the most vulnerable in the global community who bear the least responsibility for the process.

We believe it is essential that government policy begins to reflect the urgency of this threat rather than engaging in attacks on democracy which undermine grassroots solutions and previous democratic achievements. We call upon government to review this decision via a parliamentary debate and vote.

Signed:

Warwick Labour

Fossil Free Warwick University

Warwick For Free Education

University of Warwick Students’ Union

Warwick Greens

Warwick Animal Ethics Society

Medsin Warwick

Warwick Amnesty

Warwick Hub