A key tenet of Green politics is a commitment to peace. Whilst it can sometimes seem that this plays out on a global level there are still small steps we can take locally to make a difference, including at local council level.
Shockingly, in December 2024, the arms manufacturer Leonardo was given permission to test its “communications equipment” on the Braid Hills. This activity was rightly shunned by the Friends of the Braid Hills group who blockaded entry to the park at the time. They said:
“We strongly oppose the use of Edinburgh Greenspaces, gifted to the people of Edinburgh, to be used in this way by a company which manufactures components which kill children & bomb hospitals. It is unbearable to watch news on our televisions seeing children maimed & orphaned by equipment manufactured in Edinburgh & now tested on the Braid Hills”
At our last Full Council meeting, I tabled a motion calling to ban arms companies from testing equipment in Council parks and greenspace. Disappointingly, my motion was not accepted by other parties and will be re-tabled at a future committee meeting. And that’s where you can help.
There is currently an open consultation about the Council’s Park Management Rules – and this is precisely the mechanism we have for banning arms companies from testing equipment in our public parks and greenspace. The consultation covers a range of questions but question 23 is where you can add your views.
If you also want to see arms companies banned from testing equipment in public parks, you could request something as simple as:
“I think the park management rules should be updated to stop arms companies using public land in Edinburgh for any purposes. I was shocked that this was allowed to happen in the Braid Hills last year.”
Challenging the arms trade wherever we can
Since being elected in 2022, I’ve dedicated time trying to challenge and disentangle the Council’s involvement with the arms industry. In the process, I’ve learnt that as well as being given permission to test equipment on Council parks and greenspace, arms companies are spending time in our schools, they’ve been given free rein to advertise on Council land, that Council owned venues have sponsored and hosted arms trade events.
It is completely inappropriate for a public body to support the activities of companies who profit from war. So, what have we been doing about it?
Last year, I was pleased to win support for a new advertising and sponsorship policy for Edinburgh Council. This policy specified that advertising deals from fossil fuel companies or arms manufacturers could not be accepted for sites on Council land. And, even more excitingly now, after brilliant work by my Green colleague, Councillor Alys Mumford, arms-length organisations of the Council – such as the Edinburgh International Conference Centre – will also have to adhere to the policy. This is a real game changer as it sends a clear message to the arms trade that the Council does not support its activities, and it will ensure that arms trade events in Council owned venues will be a thing of the past.
In our schools and colleges, we’ve been gathering data about which arms companies have been allowed access to students and (inspired by some amazing activism by the Edinburgh High School Students Union) Cllr Steve Burgess has been calling for guidance around (un)ethical careers fairs. Cllr Dan Heap has been challenging the militaristic pomp and ceremony of the RAF flypasts at the Tattoo, and Cllr Susan Rae became the first Bailie to lay white poppies instead of red at Remembrance Day services.
Through all of this, along with our consistent calls for solidarity, justice and peace for Palestine, we hope that we are sending a message that not everybody unquestioningly supports the military industrial complex which seeps into so many aspects of Council life. We’d love to hear your suggestions for what else we can be doing to challenge the arms trade in Edinburgh and continue spreading the green message of peace.