Local authorities

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.

This statement by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) explained that in 1977 the authority had adopted a policy of not buying South African goods. In addition it only did business with companies that complied with British anti-discriminatory legislation. ILEA stated that the 1988 Local Government Act had now made it impossible for the authority to continue to implement this policy. Until its abolition by the Thatcher Government in 1990, ILEA ran the schools in the 12 inner London boroughs.

In May 1988 Local Authorities Against Apartheid organised a conference for local councils on ‘Building Links with the Frontline States’. The conference discussed how to twin local authorities in Britain with their counterparts in the countries of Southern Africa. This pamphlet published the keynote addresses made by Zambian Deputy Foreign Minister Mavis Muyunda and FRELIMO leader Jorge Rebelo.

Nelson Mandela was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Islwyn in South Wales to mark his 70th birthday in 1988. In the photograph Neil Kinnock MP presents a scroll to Mandela’s lawyer Ismail Ayob with Beyers Naude and Imam Esack looking on. The presentation was one of hundreds of honours conferred on Mandela by British local authorities and other institutions in the 1980s.

This booklet was produced by the London Borough of Lambeth in south London. It gave advice to Lambeth residents on how to check if goods on sale in local shops came from South Africa or Namibia. It was carefully worded so as not to break new laws restricting the powers of local authorities to support consumer boycott campaigns.

As part of Glasgow’s 1990 European City of Culture celebrations, Mandela Club Nights showcased bands from Southern Africa. The Sechaba Festival brought 60 South African poets, musicians, actors and dancers to Glasgow in a two-week programme of events. The Festival included a five-day international conference on cultural resistance to apartheid, and performances, exhibitions and films. The Club and the Festival were organised by Sechaba Festivals Ltd., established by the Scottish AAM Committee and the STUC with support from Glasgow City and Strathclyde Regional Councils and individual trade unions.

This Declaration was adopted by the Borough of Barrow in Furness, Cumbria in June 1990. It called on the South African government to lift political restrictions so that negotiations for a new constitution could take place following the release of Nelson Mandela. It was based on a model declaration circulated by Local Authorities Against Apartheid. Altogether 42 councils adopted the declaration.