UK Elections: Ab Ki Baar 400 Paar for Labour as Rishi Sunak and Tories Decimated

Keir Starmer is likely provide a pragmatic government under which India-UK relations will see a change.

The Labour Party has achieved a landslide electoral victory in the United Kingdom, ending 14 years of Tory chaos and poor governance. Sir Keir Starmer will move into 10 Downing Street at a time when the country is desperate to rebuild its trust in politicians.

The horror show that the Conservative Party's government made us sit through was succinctly worded by commentator and former footballer Gary Neville two days before the election, “They partied, they bet on elections, they crashed the economy, they broke every public service... I would never take anything for granted but I hope they are annihilated on Thursday. The worst people and government we have ever had.”

Since 2010, the UK witnessed a string of five Conservative prime ministers, seven chancellors and eight home secretaries (Suella Braverman held the post twice). The shambolic mismanagement of COVID crushed the economy, and let's not forget Brexit and other governmental blunders. In the run-up to this suddenly declared election months before it was due, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak resorted to asking voters to somehow stop a Labour 'supermajority'. They did not listen to him.

“We are back,” said a victorious Starmer, but as prime minister, he will have to fulfil the expectations of voters across 650 constituencies who have clearly voted for seismic change and stability.

With UK's 'Desi' PM Out, What of Ties With India?

For many Indians, Rishi Sunak as prime minister was seen as Britain's “son-in-law”, i.e., the first desi PM (though unelected). Many Indian media outlets even ran opinions about ‘reverse Raj’.

But what did Sunak do during his tenure? In author and historian Sathnam Sanghera’s words on X, “Well, it’s amazing we had a brown PM. Something I thought I would never live to see. But he dabbled in racism when it was convenient, and, politically speaking, turned out to be a total and utter bellend.”

Yes, he got a chance and he blew it. The Tories have been annihilated. Conceding defeat, Sunak said, "The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight, there is much to learn... and I take responsibility for the loss.”

Many sources within the current Indian establishment have often asked me about what India-UK relations will look like under a Labour government. Here I would point out that the Indian-origin voters constitute the largest diaspora voting bloc in the UK. Those Indians who arrived in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s traditionally voted for Labour. It was the then Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson who brought about the Race Relations Act in 1965, the first piece of legislation in the country to ensure the prohibition of racial discrimination.

When David Cameron was in power, he promised during a public engagement at the Neasden Temple in 2010, that the UK would soon see an Indian prime minister. Since then, there has been a shift.

In 2010, 61 percent of British Indians said that they supported Labour, but a survey seen by The Guardian showed that by 2019, the figure had reduced to just 30 percent. Most economically successful Indian Hindus began shifting their allegiance to the Conservatives.

Cameron made it his mission to recruit more Indian-origin people as parliamentary candidates and councillors. I was part of the maiden launch of Conservatives Friends of India. By this time, second and third-generation British-Indian Hindus were affluent, well-integrated, and more inclined towards the Conservative ideology. The Modi-BJP government came to power in India in 2014 at a time when the Conservatives here were shifting further right.

Relations between India’s ruling BJP and the Labour Party nosedived when, in 2019, the Indian High Commission in London cancelled its annual reception with Labour Friends of India. It was an immature move for any government, i.e., for diplomatic relations. Priti Patel, a known Modi supporter, was then the Home Secretary.

Earlier this year, Labour overhauled its outreach efforts to British Indians, amid concern that the party’s support among the country’s largest ethnic minority has slumped in recent years. The measures taken by the party's cadre included setting up a group called Labour Indians to organise community events and target British Indians on social media. Starmer also clearly said that Labour will not tolerate ‘Hinduphobia’.

Now, the 61-year-old incoming prime minister, a human rights barrister and former Director of Prosecution, is likely to provide a pragmatic government under which India-UK relations will see a change. While Sunak failed to close the India-UK FTA (Free Trade Agreement), Starmer may breathe fresh life into it. It is expected that the EU-UK relations will improve as well after the fallout of a harsh Brexit. The Tory government’s Rwanda plan will now go out of the window.

Final Thoughts

Interestingly, some Tory beasts have lost, the party has been wiped out in Wales and Scotland, and the seats of former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Theresa May have been taken by the Liberal Democrats. Liz Truss, the shortest-serving British prime minister ever, has been voted out.

However, Indian-origin Tory leaders Priti Patel and Suella Braverman have retained their seats along with Sunak. Both these women and the outgoing prime minister will now be contenders for the Conservative leadership contest that will soon follow.

It is concerning that Nigel Farage, the leader of the right-wing Reform Party, has won his seat and will be in Parliament along with three of his colleagues. But there are more independents in Parliament than the Reform Party (most of them are pro-Gaza). Liberal Democrats have done much better than predicted and are not far behind the Tories. It is a big time for the Green Party which has four MPs now.

The Right has not gone away, the Left is still there. Interesting times lie ahead.

(Nabanita Sircar is a senior journalist based in London. She tweets at @sircarnabanita. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)