On Diwali day, in an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, Prime Minister David Cameron ensured the Asian voters that the Conservative party is doing its best to bridge any gap between the ethnic minorities and his party. This was followed from the speculation that Conservative party may tie up with the UKIP, if it fails to secure a majority in the next election.
“We have a challenge and one that I want to meet” said Cameron. “British Asians have very strong Conservative values. They believe in enterprise, they believe in putting back into society.” He went on to say, “I think sometimes Conservative party has not done enough to demonstrate just how open it is to other communities, though you can see it has changed. We have many British Asian Conservatives in the benches of House of Commons and House of Lords and in the Council chambers, up and down the country. Now is the time that support for Conservative values can be turned into support for the Conservative party.”
After the last election in 2010, a study showed that while 40% of white voters support the Conservative party, only 16% of ethnic minorities including Indian votes for the Conservative party. While immigration has become a favourite subject amongst Britons, UKIP is becoming increasingly popular, exploiting the issue of immigration. Supposed to have influenced Cameron's recent thought process on UK's immigration policies, it is currently believed that if the Tory party fails to win the majority vote in the 2015 general election, there are high chances of the party joining hands with UKIP leader Nigel Farage to form a Coalition: 'a disaster in the making' according to the Asian voters.
Immigration, a much debated subject in Britain has been a part of the British Asian ethos. The second generation of British Indians, born and bred in Britain, are aware of their dual cultural privilege, and look at the anti-immigrant stance as 'archaic', and multiculturalism remains a significant ingredient of their DNA, their perception of 'who is british' and that of the future of Britain.
In his interview, PM Cameron emphasised that it would be wrong of him to speak of any possible or probable alliance- including one with the UKIP: “We are not having pacts or deals with any one, before the election. That would be completely wrong. We stand as the national Conservative party.”
He explained, “Let me reassure all the people who read Asian Voice, we need to have a firm and fair control of immigration and we will deliver that. And indeed many British Asians say to me it is necessary and they can be frustrated as anybody else by a failure to have fair controls, but that should be accompanied by a very clear commitment to maintain what we are, which is an open, tolerant, compassionate, multiracial country, that many people have come to live in and contribute to and very proud to call home.”
The Prime Minister, who will be visiting Brisbane, Australia for the G20 summit in November, will be speaking on several issues including the Ebola epidemic. Earlier, the summit decided to focus only on climate change, however it is now supposed to address economic issues, along with wider topics.
This summit is being held around the same time as the Indo-EU leaders' conclave in New Delhi (Prabodhan, to be held from 11-15 November this year). Last year the PM visited the conclave in India, though he could not say for sure if he would do the same this year: “I am not sure if that will be possible this time. I am very keen to meet with the Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, which I will do at the G20,” said PM Cameron.
This will be the first time the two Prime Ministers meet face to face. Speaking about Shri Modi's upcoming visit to Britain, he said, “Mr Modi has an open invitation to come to the UK.” It is believed that Mr Cameron has specially invited the Indian Prime Minister to come during the unveiling of the Gandhi statue in January 2015 at Parliament Square. But rumours say that Shri Modi may not be able to visit in January, though a visit in the first half of the new year is likely: “We have not got a date as yet. But the invitation is an open one. I know he will get a very warm reception by many people in Britain, impressed by the steps he is taken as the Prime Minister and also the economic transformation he achieved in Gujarat. There are lots of things to discuss with him” Cameron added.
Having visited India thrice already, he elaborated on the special bond India and Britain shares: “I really believe in the British Indian partnership and it has the potential of becoming one of the special relationships of the 21st century. Look at the figures, it has more British Indian investments going than any other G20 nation. When you look at Indian investments in Britain, India is investing more into Britain than rest of Europe put together. So the connections, the people to people contact, the trade it's all there, and I think the political partnership should be very strong too” the PM concluded.
However, a very important aspect of the Indo-British relations, remains that of Indian students coming to Britain for higher education. It is widely believed that the hostility towards Indian students coming to study in Britain continues, and that this may affect the poll in 2015.
Studies in January this year showed that India is the second largest source of non-EU students for British universities, behind China. The number of non-EU students at UK universities has risen every single year since the Higher Education Statistics Agency began keeping records in 1994/95.
According to Hesa, Non-EU students made up 13% of the total student population at UK universities in 2012-13. There was a 25% drop in the number of Indian first-year students starting courses in 2012-13, following on from a 32% fall the previous year. The number of Indian first-year students starting courses has halved in just two years, falling from 23,985 in 2010-11 to 12,280 in 2012-13.
Universities warned the government’s abolition of the post-study work visa was deterring students from coming to the UK. When asked about that, the Prime Minister assured that the increasing number of scholarships available to Indian students now, would do the trick, though he made it clear that he would make no changes to the post study work visa arrangements in the near future.
Mr Cameron said, “expanding the number of Chevening scholarship, I think is very exciting for Indian students. There is no limit on the number of students coming to Britain to study. All that is required is an English qualification and a place in a British university. There is also no limit on the number that can stay as long as they can find work in a graduate job. I am not changing the arrangement for the post work study route...”
“I do not think we need more people to come into lower skill employments, because we should be training British people or people who are already here. It is a very good and clear offer.”
photo courtesy: Raj D Bakrania, Prmediapix
