The living bridge between India and the UK grows stronger

Lord Dolar Popat Wednesday 02nd November 2022 13:29 EDT
 

The relationship between the UK and India is a special one and with the diaspora in the UK being close to 2 million, British Indians significantly shape modern Britain. Over the last few decades, we have seen British Indians integrate themselves into British society and have now become a core part of their communities. 

10 years ago, I founded Conservative Friends of India with David Cameron, after having spent 40 years trying to galvanise the British Indian community to engage with the Conservative Party. The aim of the organisation is twofold, to strengthen relations between UK and India and to engage, empower and strengthen relations between the Conservative Party and the British Indian diaspora. This has helped ensure that British Indians are supported in playing an active part in British politics. 

At the time, David Cameron celebrated that we were the first party to have a Jewish Prime Minister in Benjamin Disraeli and the first party to have a female Prime Minister in Margaret Thatcher. He predicted that it will not be long before we have our first British Indian Prime Minister. Little did we know that 10 years later, we would be celebrating one of our members and supporters, Rishi Sunak becoming the first British Indian Prime Minister. 

For those of the Hindu faith, the timing of Sunak’s rise to Prime Minister came at a special time for us as we celebrate Diwali. Sunak is a Hindu himself and led the way in celebrating Diwali on the steps of No. 11 during his time as Chancellor and now will do so on the steps of No. 10 as Prime Minister. The UK has a long history of people practising their faiths whilst also recognising and celebrating others, this will be further strengthened with it having the first Hindu Prime Minister. 

Many will wonder what this election means for the UK’s relationship with India. The election of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister will certainly help when he engages directly with Prime Minister Modi. Under Sunak’s leadership, we will see the completion of the UK-India Trade deal which will solidify our partnership. Exports to India have reached £5.5 billion in 2022 so far and imports to the UK have reached £990 million. This is only the beginning as the trade deal will significantly make trade easier and ensure those numbers continue to grow which will result in greater prosperity for both countries. 

Sunak has a major task ahead of him and his immediate priorities will be dealing with the cost-of-living, the war in Ukraine and restoring Britain’s credibility. Being a politician and technocrat, he has the knowledge and experience to succeed, and I welcome that he has received support from across the party. Only by having a united party can we have a strong Government that can tackle the challenges we face. I strongly believe that Sunak will do this over the weeks and months ahead. Sunak served as Chancellor during the pandemic and supported people and businesses at a time when they needed it most. The support was not only delivered quickly but in such a way that it saved millions of jobs in the process. 

It is vital that we now come together as a party and support the Prime Minister to lead us through this challenging time. Today history has been made, not just for the Conservative Party but for the United Kingdom. Children across the UK who come from immigrant backgrounds but especially those in the British Asian community will see that there is no limit to what they can achieve in the UK through hard work and determination.

Rishi Sunak has not only made history as the first British Asian Prime Minister but will also bring stability to the UK. 

Dolar Popat is a member of the House of Lords and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.


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