Boycott

This list of 162 local British local authorities that boycotted all South African products was compiled as part of the AAM’s campaign against the Local Government Bill introduced into the British Parliament in 1987. The effect of the Bill was to prohibit local authorities from banning the purchase of South African goods and from barring companies with links to South Africa and Namibia from local government contracts. It became law in 1988.

In 1987 the Conservative Government introduced a Bill prohibiting local authorities from banning the purchase of South African goods and barring companies with links to South Africa and Namibia from local authority contracts. This statement set out arguments against the Bill put forward by Local Authorities Against Apartheid (LAAA)’s National Steering Committee. It said the Bill would damage race relations in Britain and prevent peaceful pressure being brought against the apartheid regime. The Bill became law in 1988.

AAM Chair Bob Hughes MP signed a giant Outspan orange at the launch of the AAM’s ‘Boycott Apartheid 89’ campaign on 20 February 1989. The launch took place outside Cape Fruit’s London headquarters. The AAM asked shoppers to impose ‘people’s sanctions’ against apartheid in the face of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s refusal to impose government sanctions. As well as Cape fruit and Outspan oranges, the campaign focused on tourism and imports of coal and gold.

This petition was circulated as part the AAM’s Boycott Apartheid 89 campaign. The centrepiece of the campaign was the Boycott Bandwagon, a bus converted to display exhibition material and show a specially commissioned video about the boycott. It toured 140 towns and cities during the year. The campaign was launched outside Cape Fruit’s London headquarters on 20 February. AAM Chair Bob Hughes MP signed a giant inflatable Outspan orange with a pledge not to buy South African fruit.

In February 1989 the Anti-Apartheid Movement launched the ‘Boycott 89’ campaign to intensify the boycott of products of apartheid. The material produced for the campaign included a video, Fruits of Fear, and leaflets focusing on Cape and Outspan products, as well as major supermarket chains like Tesco. The centrepiece was the Boycott Bandwagon, a converted double-decker bus, which visited over 140 towns, cities and villages during the year.

This poster was produced for the Anti-Apartheid Movement’s ‘Boycott 89’ campaign. Its targets were Cape and Outspan, the brand names used for South African fruit in Britain. Using photomontage, the poster implied that if shoppers purchased South African fruit, they were helping the apartheid regime fund its war machine. The poster was used on 18 March and 24 June 1989, when local activists took part in nationally co-ordinated pickets of shops selling Cape and Outspan products.

The Boycott Bandwagon, a converted bus, was the centrepiece of the AAM’s ‘Boycott 89’ campaign. It visited over 140 towns, cities and villages all over Britain distributing information about the boycott of South African goods and showing a specially commissioned video, Fruits of Fear.

The AAM’s Boycott 89 campaign extended the boycott of South African fruit to gold and tourism. Its centrepiece was the Boycott Bandwagon, a bus converted to display exhibition material and show a specially commissioned video about the boycott. It toured 140 towns and cities during the year. The campaign was launched outside Cape Fruit’s London headquarters on 20 February. This brochure included a special pledge form and provided information about the campaign.