Grandmother faces losing home over climate protest

Jane McCarthy disagrees with pension funds investing in fossil fuels

A 74-year-old woman could lose her home after refusing to pay council tax for more than three years in protest at fossil fuel investments.

Jane McCarthy, from Aylesbury, has withheld payments of about £5,000 to Buckinghamshire Council in a bid to pressure it to move its pension fund and banking away from what she calls "investments in climate destruction".

Last week, a judge at Reading County Court granted the council a Final Charging Order on her property, opening the door to potential enforcement action.

Buckinghamshire Council's Robert Carington has said he "acknowledges the personal views" in this case but added that the payment of council tax "like any other tax, is not a personal choice".

The order allows the council to place a legal claim on Dr McCarthy's home, which could be used to force a sale.

The council would then recover the amount owed from the proceeds.

"The order could just sit on the deeds to my property, or the council could return to court to force a sale on my house. It is up to them," said Dr McCarthy.

Jane McCarthy (in the orange dress, back) is part of a campaign group urging Buckinghamshire Council to divest from fossil fuel

Dr McCarthy's said the protest was not a way to avoid paying her bills.

"I want to pay my council tax. It's not that I'm trying not to," she said.

"But it does, to me, evoke a matter of conscience that I'm handing over money that is going to be used to very seriously affect my children's future."

The court reduced her legal costs by 75% to £1,000. But Dr McCarthy, who has incurable cancer, said the process was aggressive and unfair.

The BBC asked the council to confirm how much of its pension investments were in "non-green" funds or fossil fuels, but it did not respond to that query.

Protesters have highlighted the council's banking links with Barclays which they say is "funding climate chaos".

The council's banking contract with Barclays runs until March 2027. The bank declined to comment.

'Committed' to greener future

Carington, cabinet member for resources at Buckinghamshire Council, said: "People are legally bound to pay it and the council has a legal duty to recover council tax as it is the nationally set system that funds vital local services.

"Consideration is always paid to a resident's situation and this will continue to be so in this case too.

"We will discuss next steps for how the funds owed can be reasonably recouped, now the court has made a decision on this matter."

He added that the council was "committed to a greener future, and this is central to the decisions made by the Brunel Pension Partnership of which we are a member".

He said Brunel's "target is for the investments it manages on behalf of its clients to be net zero by 2050 at the latest".