What Labour Party’s win means for India

Unseating the incumbent Conservatives after 14 years, Labour Party chief Keir Starmer is set to replace Rishi Sunak as the Britain Prime Minister.

Starmer, the human rights barrister turned Labour Party leader, has been credited with reversing the party’s fortunes from one of its worst poll performances in the 2019 general election to the cusp of forming the government. “UK gets its future back,” said Starmer in his victory speech.

During his poll campaign, Starmer had hinted at boosting ties with India and stressed on the importance of cultivating a proper relationship. Starmer’s manifesto included a commitment to pursue a “new strategic” partnership with India and indicated a free trade agreement (FTA). He also made a determined push to woo the growing Hindu voters in the country with visits to various temples. The approach was a marked shift from the party’s stance under former leader Jeremy Corbyn.

What does Starmer’s win mean for India?

Starmer has been outlining his vision for robust UK-India relations spanning trade, technology, environment and security operation.

These gestures are aimed at fostering greater trust and inclusion within British-Indian communities as this demographic is vital to Labour’s electoral calculus.

Setting the tone for the party’s India-UK outlook at the India Global Forum (IGF) last year, Starmer had declared, “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,” said Starmer.

A Labour win with Starmer could see a stricter handling of anti-Hindu hate crimes in UK. Last week while visiting the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Kingsbury, Starmer had said “there is absolutely no place for Hinduphobia in Britain”.

Acknowledging past missteps, particularly the party’s perceived stance on the Kashmir conflict, Starmer has committed to eliminating any extremist views that could strain UK-India relations.

Party Chair Anneliese Dodds announced that Labour has “cleansed its ranks of any members with extremist views” and invited the Indian diaspora to report any instances of anti-India sentiment, pledging swift action.

The Labour Party also promised to pursue the long-pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India if it won the elections. Starmer has been a vocal critic of the delays in signing the FTA under the Tories.

In fact, he had said that the Labour Party wants to expand FTA to include other cooperation areas such as new technologies, environment and security.

The Labour party is also expected to push hard in the visa negotiations.

The government may also look at immigration, which is one of the most contentious topics in British politics. With bipartisan consensus on the need to reduce immigration, negotiations on temporary visas for Indian workers in the UK service industry may present a challenge for Labour.

How did Starmer try to woo the Indian diaspora?

In the run up to the polls, Starmer did not shy away from acknowledging past measures of his party regarding India, especially the party’s indication of favouring Pakistan in the Kashmir issue.

Starmer has promised to ensure that his party does away with any “anti-Indian” sentiment. The party chair, Annelies Dodds claimed that the Labour Party has “cleansed its ranks of any members with “extremist views” on India. Starmer recognised the growing importance of the UK’s Indian-origin population and their growing clout. He also invited the Indian diaspora to report any anti-India sentiment within his party. Starmer also promised to take swift action to address such issues.

The Labour Party fielded many Indian-origin candidates in the 2024 election.