Greater Manchester Pension Fund goes silent on calls to divest

Local Lib Dem Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani has written to Greater Manchester Pension Fund chief executive Steve Pleasant demanding answers after the Pension Fund failed to reply for five months to an Oldham Council motion calling for them to stop investing in fossil fuel companies.

Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “I consider it extremely poor that the Pension Fund has failed to respond to the Council – who are part of the management of the organisation, for nearly half a year.

“It’s pretty telling about what their priorities are that while we are trying to ensure they invest wisely both for the pension fund members and for the environment, they have failed to reply.”

The motion also called on the Pension Fund to provide a report on what they were doing to ensure that their current investments were used to change the behaviour of fossil fuel companies, as this was the Fund’s stated reason for not removing their investment immediately.

“I don’t agree with their reasons for choosing not to divest. However, they need to be able to demonstrate that they are doing what they say they are, and failing to provide even an acknowledgement after five months is not acceptable.”