On Monday 13th January, a Conservative Party MP took to the floor of Commons re-emphasising that one of the UK's greatest assets is its diversity.
Shailesh Vara highlighted that 1.5 million people of Indian origin in the UK provide a “living bridge in terms of our contact and help to strengthen our relationship with India”. Acknowledging the contribution of the Indian diaspora, Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied,
“The Indian community make an incredible contribution and help us to sell UK plc abroad not just in India, but around the world, as do many other communities. The point that was made by my hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Mr Baker) is that we need to not just respect and safeguard the interests of those communities, but be proud of them and enable and empower them to champion the UK on our behalf.”
Earlier last year, while speaking in Prime Minister’s Questions, Shailesh Vara had commended the Indian diaspora in the UK for contributing 10% of taxes to the Treasury whilst making up only 4% of UK population. Theresa May, the then Prime Minister of the country had acknowledged the role of the Indian diaspora and the economic contribution they make through their taxes.
