With the Labour Party led by Keir Starmer set to win the UK general election 2024, the role of Indian-origin Members of Parliament will continue to be in focus since Indians constitute a major chunk of the UK’s ethnic population, roughly 1.9 million, as per the 2021 Census.
According to poll predictions, the Labour Party is set to secure 410 out of the 650 parliamentary seats, representing a significant comeback from their abysmal result five years ago, which was the worst performance since 1935.
The previous UK Parliament, with Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, had 15 Indian-origin MPs, eight from Labour and seven from the Conservative Party, among 65 non-while MPs elected, setting a strong diverse milestone in the British political history.
Indian households lead in high-income brackets, with 42% earning £1,000 or more weekly between 2015 and 2018, as per the data. Despite comprising almost 3% of the UK population, they contribute over 6% to the GDP, highlighting their substantial economic and potentially influential political footprint.
Who are the Indian-Origin MPs in UK?
In the UK General Election 2024, a total of 107 British-Indians are vying for the 680 available seats. Some of the winners are:
Shivani Raja: She won the Leicester East gaining from the Labour Party, competing heavyweights including former MPs Claude Webbe and Keith Vaz who contested as Independents. Raja was born in Leicester and studied there at Herrick Primary, Soar Valley College, Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth II college. She graduated with First Class Honours in Cosmetic Science from De Montfort University.
Kanishka Narayan: Labour’s Kanishka Narayan becomes the first MP of Welsh from a minority background, defeating former Welsh Sec Alun Cairns. Narayan was born in India and moved to Cardiff when he was 12. He got into Eton on a scholarship and went on to study at Oxford and then Stanford before becoming a civil servant. The Times described him as “the Old Etonian scholarship boy and civil servant in the Vale of Glamorgan”.
Suella Braverman: She has won Fareham and Waterlooville seat. She was replaced by James Cleverly as interior minister in the last re-shuffle of the last Sunak Cabinet. The Indian-origin MP was forced out as home secretary after challenging the prime minister. She also accused the Metropolitan Police of siding with pro-Palestinian protesters. Braverman was born Sue-Ellen Fernandes, in April 1980 — named after Sue-Ellen Ewing, the matriarch of the American TV show Dallas, one of her mother’s favourite shows.
Other candidates who are in the fray include outgoing PM Rishi Sunak, who may lose from Richmond Northallerton constituency. He could the first sitting prime minister to lose his seat in a general election. Abbas Merali, a Kenyan-Gujarati Muslim councillor, is contesting Harrow West against Labour Friends of India’s Gareth Thomas, the constituency’s successive MP.
From the Labour Party, the India-origin candidates include Navendu Mishra representing Stockport, while Preet Kaur Gill, the first British Sikh female MP, serves as UK Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Public Health, re-elected from Birmingham Edgbaston in 2019.
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, the first turbaned Sikh MP, represents Slough. Other Labour MPs include Lisa Nandy (Wigan), Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston), and Valerie Vaz (Walsall South). Virendra Sharma, who represented Ealing Southall since 1997, has announced he will not seek re-election in 2024.
Among the first-time Labour candidates are former London Deputy Mayor Rajesh Agarwal (Leicester East), Baggy Shanker (Derby South), Uday Nagaraju (North Bedfordshire), Hajira Piranie (Harborough, Oadby and Wigston), Shama Tatler (Chingford and Woodford Green), Kanishka Narayan (Vale of Glamorgan), Ryan Jude (Tatton), and Primesh Patel (Harrow East).
How Labour Party Woos India-Origin Voters
The British-Indian community has prospered in the last few years quite significantly, influencing politics, with some inclining towards Conservative policies.
Under Keir Starmer leadership, Labour is working to rebuild its relationship with the Indian community, increasing engagement, fielding more Indian-origin candidates, and renewing outreach efforts. “If we’re elected next week, we will strive to govern in the spirit of sewa to serve you and a world in need,” said the Labour Leader, reiterating a previous message that there is “absolutely no place for Hinduphobia in Britain”.
The Labour Party is also adjusting its foreign policy approach to focus on the issues of British-Indians.
What is the Hindu Community’s Demand?
A group of 29 prominent Hindu organisations released the inaugural ‘Hindu Manifesto UK 2024’, calling for recognition of anti-Hindu hate crimes and equal representation among other key issues.
Anti-Hindu hate has emerged as a significant issue, with organisations calling for Hinduphobia to be recognised as a distinct category of religious hate crime, citing the need for enhanced protection of Hindu communities and places of worship.
Issues such as immigration and citizenship also remain central to the British-Indian population. MPs are advocating for fair and transparent regulations for acknowledging the contributions of Indian diaspora. There is also a demand to streamline visa processes, work permits, and naturalisation procedures.
Educational reform is another priority, particularly concerning the teaching of Hinduism in schools. MPs are calling for more accurate and respectful curriculum content, along with improved handling of faith-targeted hate incidents in educational institutions.
