Finnie welcomes news divestment will be discussed by MSP pension managers
John Finnie MSP, Justice spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, today (8 Mar) welcomed confirmation from the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body that divestment will be part of forthcoming discussions by MSP pension fund managers.
Polling for the Scottish Green MSPs this week showed that most Scots want the parliament's pension fund to stop investing tens of millions of pounds of public money in firms that contribute to wars, climate change and ill-health. [1]
John Finnie MSP, who has been campaigning on the issue since 2014, used Corporate Body Questions to press for current and previous members of the fund to be consulted on divestment.
John said:
"As part of the pension fund investment strategy, current and former MSPs should be consulted about which industries their pensions support. I'm sure most would not want to be complicit in the misery caused by warfare, climate change and the legacy of the tobacco industry.
"Today's confirmation that this issue will be part of a forthcoming meeting between the pension trustees and the fund managers is a small, long-overdue step but a welcome one. The divestment movement is growing all the time, and I hope the parliament does the right thing sooner rather than later."