The Labour party is inching closer to a historic win in the UK elections, dethroning Rishi Sunak’s Conservative party which has been in power for 14 years. The Centre-Left Labour party leader Keir Starmer is likely to be Britain’s next prime minister and India ofcourse wants to have a clear understanding of his stance towards the country.
Labour’s Starmer wants to mend ties with India
Campaigning for his party ahead of the snap parliamentary election, called by Sunak, 61-year-old Starmer has tried to woo British-Indians as well as India. He has sought to rebuild the strained ties between his Labour party and the India diaspora.
The Labour leader has acknowledged past missteps by his party, under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, in handling relations with India, especially over its perceived anti-India stance on Kashmir issue by supporting Pakistan. The Labour’s decision had alienated many British Indian voters in the 2019 UK general elections.
Starmer wants to win back support of British Indians
Starmer has identified the growing political clout of the UK’s Indian-origin population, which is the largest immigrant group in the country.
He has sought to win back the support of British Indian voters who had distanced themselves from Labour in recent years. Also his party has fielded a number of Indian-origin candidates in the 2024 UK election.
‘A changed Labour Party’
At the India Global Forum (IGF) last year, Starmer had set the tone for his party’s India-UK outlook and had said, “I have a clear message for you all today: this is a changed Labour Party. What my Labour government will seek with India is a relationship based on our shared values of democracy and aspiration.”
‘New strategic partnership’ with India
Starmer and his Labour party have taken a more pro-India stance compared to the party’s previous leadership under Corbyn.
The Labour party under Starmer has been seeking to rebuild trust and strengthen the strategic partnership between the UK and India if they form the government.
In its manifesto, Starmer’s Labour has pledged to pursue a “new strategic partnership” with India, which even had a clear mention of a free trade agreement (FTA), if handed a mandate to form a Labour-led government in June 4 polls.
He has been critical of the delays in FTA under the Conservative government and said his party wants to see the agreement cover more beyond trade and wants cooperation in host of other areas including new technologies, the environment, and security.
The Labour party’s 2024 election manifesto also emphasised on deepening cooperation with India in areas including security, technology, climate change, and education, if voted to power.
‘No place for Hinduphobia in Britain’
On June 28, days ahead of the 2024 UK polls, Starmer visited the Swaminarayan Temple in Kingsbury and sought to reassure British Hindus that there was absolutely no place for Hinduphobia in Britain.
He has been reiterating this message over the past few years during the Diwali and Holi celebrations.
“If we’re elected next week, we will strive to govern in the spirit of sewa to serve you and a world in need,” Starmer said at the Swaminarayan Temple, reiterating his promise of “absolutely no place for Hinduphobia in Britain”.
The Labour party’s manifesto also reads that “Hinduphobia is a set of antagonistic, destructive, and derogatory attitudes and behaviours towards Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) and Hindus that may manifest as prejudice, fear, or hatred.”
Indian diaspora invited to report anti-India sentiment
Starmer’s party also seems to be committed to rooting out any extremist views within Labour that could strain the UK-India ties. The party chair, Anneliese Dodds, has recently claimed Labour has “cleansed its ranks of any members with extremist views” on India.
The party has invited the Indian diaspora to report any issue of anti-India sentiment within Labour, pledging swift action to address such instances.
With inputs from agencies
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