We are asking candidates for the local elections in May – from all political parties – to make a pledge against the arms trade and arms fairs:
The arms trade contributes to conflicts across the world, leading to death, injury and the destruction of infrastructure and the environment. It is time to stop the arms trade in the UK and to support the training of workers in the arms industry in alternative trades.
I will work with others to get my council to agree to disinvest pension funds from arms dealers.
I believe that London should not be hosting arms dealers and their customers and will do what I can to prevent the DSEI arms fair happening again in our city.
Background
Many activists in like-minded organisations have continued over the years to lobby and protest against the UK arms trade. In London, we have tried to stop the biennial DSEI arms fair held at the ExCeL Centre in Newham, and many of us organise and take part in street actions before and during the event.
Two important dates are coming up:
-
- we have London borough elections on 7 May 2026
-
- the next arms fair is planned for September 2027
With advice and guidance from CAAT (Campaign to Stop the Arms Trade), WILPF UK have drafted a letter and a pledge request for prospective candidates in the London boroughs. We are hoping that anti-war and peace campaigning organisations and individuals will help share this pledge request to their local candidates in London.
This collective action will mean that successful candidates will have the relevant information in advance to help them work towards being a politician in a council that does not invest in arms trade companies or lease properties to companies that produce arms or components for arms. In addition, we hope that newly elected councillors in relevant boroughs will work to stop the 2027 arms fair in Newham, and anywhere else in London. This work could also become a model to campaign against other arms fairs around the country.
The list of all candidates standing in the May election should be available on your local council website and on the electoral commission website here: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/your-election-information
If you are a candidate who wishes to support the pledge, or an individual who has received a response from your local candidate, please let us know at ukwilpf.info@gmail.com.
Candidates who have signed the pledge:
-
- Sarah Byrne, London Fields, London Borough of Hackney, Hackney Independent Socialist Collective
- Heather Mendick, Homerton, London Borough of Hackney, Hackney Independent Socialist Collective
- Alana Heaney, Homerton, London Borough of Hackney, Hackney Independent Socialist Collective
- Claudia Turbet-Delof, Victoria, London Borough of Hackney, Hackney Independent Socialist Collective
- Penny Wrought, Victoria, London Borough of Hackney, Hackney Independent Socialist Collective
- Fliss Premru, Clissold, London Borough of Hackney, Hackney Independent Socialist Collective
- Janet Lee, Hoxton East and Shoreditch, London Borough of Hackney, Green Party
-
- Eliza Broadbent, Wandsworth Common, London Borough of Wandsworth, Green Party
- Camden Green Party
- Islington Green Party
The pledge
The arms trade contributes to conflicts across the world, leading to death, injury and the destruction of infrastructure and the environment. It is time to stop the arms trade in the UK and to support the training of workers in the arms industry in alternative trades.
I will work with others to get my council to agree to disinvest pension funds from arms dealers.
I believe that London should not be hosting arms dealers and their customers and will do what I can to prevent the DSEI arms fair happening again in our city.
Name
Signature
Date
The people of this area deserve representatives who refuse to remain silent in the face of systemic oppression. I look forward to your response, and hope for your support and a clear commitment to these actions.
Yours sincerely
Letter to candidates
Dear Council candidate
London Councils and the Arms Trade
As a resident and voter in the London Borough of ….., I am writing to formally register my opposition to our local government’s continued financial and institutional ties to the F-35 fighter jet programme[1]and other arms manufacturing, and to the biennial (every two years) arms fair held in London with the support of the UK government.
Every two years the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) – one of the world’s largest arms fairs – is held in the Excel Centre in the London Borough of Newham.
The event is attended by arms dealers, military personnel and representatives from many of the world’s most violent, corrupt and undemocratic regimes, with the active support and encouragement of the UK government, which is keen to sell as many weapons as it can all around the world. Thousands of exhibitors and buyers gather to make deals over equipment that causes untold death and destruction worldwide. In this time of heightened global tension and atrocious wars, business is booming for the arms industry. But, in contrast to the name of the event, these appalling products do not offer “defence” or “security”. Selling weapons is not what will keep us – or anyone – safe. This is where war and repression starts – and this is where we can stop it.
Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has said that he opposes the use of London as a marketplace for the trade of weapons to countries that contribute to human rights abuses. Unfortunately, neither the permission nor its cancellation is within the Mayor’s remit. We are asking you to condemn the arms fair and indicate your concerns to the Mayor and to your colleagues in Newham to prevent the arms fair taking place again in 2027.
In relation to your own council, many local authorities are considering how their pension funds contribute to investment in arms companies, and some have already agreed to disinvest in these. You will wish to check the position of your council and you can do this by using the London Collective Investment Vehicle, external(LCIV), which manages pooled pension funds on councils’ behalf.
As a council candidate you have a responsibility to ensure that our community does not prioritise corporate profits ahead of the lives and freedoms of innocent civilians across the Middle East and in conflict zones throughout the world.
I am asking you to sign this pledge as a sign of your commitment to disinvestment in the arms trade.
___________________________________________________________________
PLEDGE
The arms trade contributes to conflicts across the world, leading to death, injury and the destruction of infrastructure and the environment. It is time to stop the arms trade in the UK and to support the training of workers in the arms industry in alternative trades.
I will work with others to get my council to agree to disinvest pension funds from arms dealers.
I believe that London should not be hosting arms dealers and their customers and will do what I can to prevent the DSEI arms fair happening again in our city.
Name
Signature
Date
The people of this area deserve representatives who refuse to remain silent in the face of systemic oppression. I look forward to your response, and hope for your support and a clear commitment to these actions.
Yours sincerely
[1] See detailed information on the F-35 programme
Appendix
Evidence from Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) reveals that the UK-supported F-35 programme isinextricably linked to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Israeli airstrikes in Iran, Lebanon, and Yemen. The UK manufactures 15% of the components of every F-35 jet by value and is the only Tier 1 partner in the US-led global programme.
The Israeli Air Force has made heavy use of its modified F-35I Adir jets, which are capable of operating in “beast mode,” allowing them to carry four 2,000lb bombs. These aircraft were used in July 2024 to drop three such 2,000lb bombs on a “safe zone” in Al-Mawasi, killing 90 Palestinians. Extensive evidence of the illegal usage of this aircraft has been provided to the UK government throughout the legal case brought by Al-Haq and GLAN(………).
Furthermore, the CEO of Lockheed Martin recently confirmed to the Israeli ambassador to the United States that the data and information generated from Israel’s combat use of the jet are worth “many billions” to the company. This information is effectively being “mined” from human suffering and death to test, develop, market, and sell the jet globally.
