Green councillor Liam Shrivastava launches bid for Lewisham mayor
The current mayor Brenda Dacres has been nominated for a Labour party peerage and announced she will be stepping down in May 2026.
Divestment
Southwark council announces pension fund divestment from firms supplying arms to Israel
Southwark council will withdraw its pension fund investments from companies linked to human rights abuses and the supply of arms to Israel, it confirmed on 15 September.
Lewisham council agrees "watered down" Divest for Palestine motion
Campaigners' divestment petition, which had over 3,000 signatures, made it onto the Agenda for debate. Green group leader Shrivastava proposed a motion for full divestment, while Cllr Sian Eiles, Pensions Investment Committee (PIC) chair, proposed an amendment which council agreed.
Peace campaigners feel ignored by Greenwich Council
Campaigners have been protesting at Woolwich Town Hall since October 2023, calling for the council to divest its pension fund from companies involved in Israel's military occupation, apartheid and genocide in Gaza. However, there is a sense among campaigners that their voices are being ignored.
Exposed: Labour Party forced councillors into silence on Gaza by threatening discipline
'Uncomradely' behaviour and formal warnings for being anti-genocide.
Lewisham councillor Liam Shrivastava defects to Greens
Councillor Shrivastava said that Labour has abandoned its democratic socialist values, is aping far-right rhetoric and allowing Reform to surge in the polls. "Its gravest crime is its continued .. support for the genocidal Israeli regime which has killed over 55,000 including 18,000 children."
Disabled people, peace campaigners and councillors join protest at Lewisham AGM
Disabled People against the Cuts were joined by councillors opposing the government's plans to slash disability benefits. Peace groups rallied in support of Cllr Shrivastava, who lost his role on the Pension Investment Committee after calling for divestment for Palestine.