Farage promises war on ‘woke' council pensions
Reform UK could block local councils from investing in 'woke' schemes that are leaving taxpayers on the hook for tens of millions of pounds.
The right-of-centre political party swept to victory in the local elections this month and now controls 10 councils across England.
It means councillors will hold key roles overseeing more than £100bn of assets within the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), which pays for the retirements of millions of council workers.
Around half of the funds within the LGPS have established net zero targets that aim to invest more money in low-carbon initiatives, such as renewable energy.
But Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader, told The Telegraph he wanted pension fund managers to prioritise maximising return on investments instead. 'We want the money invested for growth not for political posturing.'
Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, told the Financial Times that the LGPS was 'riddled with underperforming net zero investments' and that the party would 'be looking closely' at the scheme.
LGPS assets can include shares in companies, bonds, property, transport and energy infrastructure, as well as private equity deals.
These investments are spread across 87 autonomous funds controlled by town halls in England and Wales, with investment managers reporting to committees made up of local councillors.
Reform is projected to have at least one councillor on committees that together control more than £100bn in assets, of which £30bn is estimated to be overseen by committees where the party's councillors will hold a majority of seats.
The analysis, which was first reported by the Financial Times, shows the party stands to have significant influence in deciding how pension pots are invested.
Mr Tice said: 'The MP's pension fund is riddled with net zero investments that are underperforming and has 32pc of its assets invested in illiquids that are probably overvalued.' He said that a 'net zero obsession leaves the taxpayer on the hook for tens of millions of pounds.'
The pension scheme for MPs is worth £862m and is currently in surplus. One low-carbon fund the parliamentary scheme has invested in, managed by BlackRock, had a return of 22.1pc in 2024 and 17.3pc in 2023, slightly better than the target benchmark.
'We are going to be looking closely at this and I'll be very grumpy if these pension schemes have bigger deficits because they've been underperforming because of woke investments,' Mr Tice added.
So-called environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment funds are usually made up from shares in companies belonging to sectors such as renewable energy and low-carbon technology.
Investors withdrew a record $8.6bn (£6.5bn) from ESG funds in the first quarter of the year after Donald Trump was re-elected US president and politicians in Europe shifted their focus to economic growth and defence spending.
Many of the individual funds within the LGPS have set out plans to shift investment to support net zero, which could include investing in more ESG funds.
Analysis by consultancy XPS Group last year showed 49pc of LGPS funds were aiming for a net zero investment portfolio by 2050. Just over a quarter had directly invested in green initiatives like reforestation and renewable energy.
The LGPS has 6.7 million members, of whom 2.1 million are paying between 5.5pc and 12.5pc of their yearly salary to the scheme, while councils contribute as much as 18pc. The latest market valuation of the LGPS said it was worth £391bn in total.
Steve Webb, a partner at Lane Clark & Peacock, a pensions consultancy, said investing in companies that support net zero targets was a good strategy for growth.
'The basic idea is that climate change is happening, whatever you may think the causes are, and that it makes sense to invest knowing that this is the case. For example, if you think demand for solar panels is going to increase, then investing in solar panel firms makes commercial sense, whatever your views on net zero.
'Likewise, money will need to be spent on mitigation or adaptation to deal with climate change, [for] example spending more on flood defences, so there may be a case for investing for a return in businesses which specialise in climate adaptation, not for ideological reasons but for commercial reasons.'
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