Almost half of Brits say investing in arms manufacturers is unethical

It’s not all about money…

Nearly half (49%) of Britons view investing in arms manufacturers as crossing an ethical line, according to a new YouGov poll. 

Furthermore, opinions on arms manufacturers differ by political affiliation: 60% of Labour voters and 65% of Liberal Democrat supporters consider investments in arms manufacturers to be unethical, compared to just 28% of Conservative voters.

Meanwhile, three-quarters of the public oppose investments in Russian government-owned companies, and 49% view investing in Israeli government-owned companies as unethical.

However, Reform supporters are less likely to describe Russian-owned companies and tobacco firms as unethical investing options than Labour, Lib Dem or Tory voters.

Fewer people view investment in defence companies more generally as unethical. 

Nearly a third of Labour and Lib Dem voters believe investing in the defence sector is unethical, compared to only 9% of Conservatives who hold the same view.

In addition, almost half of Brits think that investing in fossil fuel companies is unethical. 

There was another clear divide along party lines in responses to this question, with more than half of Labour and Lib Dem voters saying it is unethical, compared to just 21% of Tory voters and 25% of Reform voters.

Last month, the business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and minister for defence procurement Maria Eagle hosted a meeting with defence and finance bosses, to try and encourage banks to invest more in the UK’s defence sector. 

This came as a result of concerns that environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles are seeing reduced investment in the defence industry.

As reported in the Financial Times, Reynold said that banks should not give in to “small but vocal campaign groups” who demand boycotts of defence companies.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward