George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, addressed a hall filled with Asian diaspora audience at the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple (Neasden) on June 14 th. He was welcomed in a traditional ceremony with Tilak (a holy sectarian mark) and a Mala (garland). After being received by the temple officials he was given a tour of the grand temple following which he joined the members of the press. Speaking to Asian Voice in a one-to- one, Osborne reacted to Minister Priti Patel’s recent promise that in case of Brexit, the UK will have a fair immigration policy which would bring in the brightest and the best from countries like India, Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand. He said, “The Brexit camp is based on the vision of Nigel Farage, who is against the idea of immigration. It is a complete myth that they wish to encourage the immigration from the rest of the world. I urge the Asian community to understand that the non-EU immigration will not increase by Brexit, it will further decrease due to a variety of factors such as loss of business and more unemployment, among others. ” Further, given the cap on the number of immigrants every year, the claims made by the Brexit camp seem hollow and unplanned for.
We also raised the issue of FDI, as India and UK are the third largest investors in each other’s economies. The long term impact if UK quits EU, as Osborne suggested, will be terrible for not only Britain’s own economy but also its trade relations with the world. He said, “Britain is the gateway to EU single market. Indian markets which also trade in the EU will also be hit upon Brexit. The diaspora has a lot to worry about in that case. We want more Indians to come in and use UK as a stepping stone to EU.” Despite this argument, Osborne failed to clearly delineate how much proportion of foreign investment is likely to be affected for both the sides.
His statement that “making the economy stronger is the first priority” did not however explain the plans for stabilising the Indo-UK foreign investments post-Brexit. This is a concern since the FDI has already been decreasing from both sides in the short-term due to economic instability over the Brexit debate. So what is Osborne’s single-most compelling argument for the part of the Asian community that feels that the current UK rules discriminate against them (non-EU) in favour of EU immigrants? He says, “We do not control immigration by destroying or damaging the economy. It is a complete myth to believe that if we quit the EU, there would be more immigration from the rest of the world. Look at who is campaigning for Brexit, it is Nigel Farage who wants less immigration from the rest of the world into Britain. We don’t want a divisive vision like that.”
With the Leave camp surging ahead in polls, what does Osborne imagine the victory to be like in terms of numbers? As he put it, “I am not a commentator, I am a participant. It is a close vote but I do hope people realise the economic risks and vote against a DIY recession.” He also paid a tribute to the Pramukh Swami Maharaj and said that the Neasden temple stands out as one of our best British landmarks.
He urged the Asian community to understand that Britain is a more attractive partner for investment as part of Europe, not outside of it.
