Green party decries Lambeth awarding £8m contract to “genocide supporting tech firm”
Greens are demanding Lambeth seeks an alternative provider to Oracle as Labour approves “financially irresponsible and morally bankrupt contract”. Last week, Lambeth Council approved a decision to award a five-year contract worth …
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Greens are demanding Lambeth seeks an alternative provider to Oracle as Labour approves “financially irresponsible and morally bankrupt contract”.
Last week, Lambeth Council approved a decision to award a five-year contract worth £8.1m to HR and finance software provider Oracle.
The Greens have been calling on the council not to award the contract to Oracle due to the company’s links to Israel and Trump as well as its contribution to Birmingham City Council’s declaration of bankruptcy.
Oracle works directly with the Israeli government and military while the company’s founder has personally donated over $16m to supporting the Israeli Defence Force. Oracle also told staff that if they did not support Israel they should consider looking for a new job.
In Birmingham, issues with Oracle software significantly contributed to the council being forced to declare bankruptcy in 2023. Continuous technical faults with the Oracle platform meant the contract, initially estimated to cost £19m, ended up costing Birmingham City Council £170m.
The Greens have warned that it would be a “reckless financial decision” to award a contract to a company with this recent track record considering the extremely precarious financial decision Lambeth is in.
The Greens also highlighted that a full tender process was not undertaken, with no alternative providers explored, raising concerns Oracle now has a “monopoly” over certain council services.
Green members of the council attempted to delay the decision to award the Oracle contract through a call-in, but were told the decision was “too urgent” to consider a call-in despite this not being outlined before the decision was taken.
Cllr Martin Abrams, Green Party councillor for Streatham St Leonard’s, said:
“What Lambeth residents want is clear – an end to the council’s financial complicity in genocide.
In January, thousands of Lambeth residents and workers signed a petition calling for divestment from companies complicit with Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians, but Lambeth Council blocked the petition and refused to accept it.
This decision deepens Lambeth’s complicity in genocide and war crimes. Labour are funnelling even more public money, including council taxes paid by Lambeth residents, into the pockets of those who support and enable the US and Israel’s immoral disregard for human life and international law.
Not only is this decision morally bankrupt, it is financially irresponsible. Issues with Oracle’s software contributed significantly to Birmingham declaring bankruptcy and are still not resolved after nearly four years.
With the position Labour has left council finances in, it would not take much to put Lambeth in the same situation.”
NOTES
- Full details of the decision – Decision – Oracle Fusion Cloud SaaS Subscriptions Contract | Lambeth Council
[This article is based on a press release by the Lambeth Green Party and is reproduced here for information purposes]
