MPs have voted to ban public bodies from boycotting Israel and other countries, despite scores of Conservative MPs not backing the bill, some of whom said the ban was illiberal and others that it would hamper action against China.
The government won a vote on Monday night on the economic activity of public bodies bill, despite the opposition of Tory backbenchers, after Labour abstained on the vote.
The bill will ban public bodies such as local councils from imposing economic sanctions on countries that are not sanctioned by the Westminster government, singling out Israel as particularly worthy of protection.
Michael Gove, the communities secretary, said during the Commons debate on Monday: “[The bill] affirms the important principle that UK foreign policy is a matter for the UK government. It ensures local authorities focus their efforts on serving residents, not directing their resources inefficiently. And critically it protects minorities, especially Jewish communities, against campaigns that harm community cohesion and fuel antisemitism.”
Gove has long been a critic of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, which campaigns for organisations to cut economic ties with Israel in protest over its treatment of Palestinians. Ministers have criticised two councils – Leicester and Lancaster, both of which have Labour as the largest party – for boycotting Israeli goods.
Labour tried unsuccessfully to block a vote on the bill, before abstaining on the vote itself, allowing the measure to pass by 268 votes to 70. While just two Conservatives – William Wragg and Crispin Blunt – voted against the government, 84 Tories abstained from voting.
Lisa Nandy, the shadow communities secretary, said during the debate: “We recognise the problem the he says this bill is needed to tackle. It is therefore deeply frustrating that the government has introduced a bill that is so needlessly broad, with such sweeping draconian powers … that he is faced with genuine legitimate heartfelt opposition from his own benches.”
Several Conservative MPs spoke out against the bill during the debate. Alicia Kearns, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said the bill “undermines our commitments as a UN security council member”. The Guardian revealed last month that Kearns was one of a number of Tory backbenchers pushing for amendments to the bill, especially the clauses that single out Israel for particular protection.
Kearns’ Conservative colleague Desmond Swayne criticised the part of the bill that would make it illegal for council leaders to say how they would use their boycott powers if they retained them. “That can’t be right in a free society, can it?” he asked.
Blunt, the former head of the foreign affairs select committee and co-director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, criticised the bill for undermining the two-state solution by explicitly including the West Bank and occupied territories within its remit.
