UK Polls 2024 | What Does A Labour Victory Mean For India-UK Ties? UK-India Business Expert Explains

Summary

In a recent interview, the UK IBC's managing director, Kevin, discusses the implications of the Labor Party's victory and Kier Starmer's appointment as Prime Minister on the UK-India relationship. He highlights the focus on economic growth, job creation, and public service improvement, as well as the potential for strengthened trade, investment, technology collaboration, and defense partnerships. Kevin also addresses migration, noting the UK's openness to Indian workers and students, and the importance of clear, positive policies to support the bilateral relationship.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ The UK has a new Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, following a landslide victory by the Labor Party over the Conservatives.
• 📈 The citizens of the UK have high expectations from the Labor Party, particularly in addressing cost of living and inflation issues.
• 🛑 The UK is emerging from a cost of living crisis, with inflation rates decreasing and economic growth beginning to stabilize.
• 💼 Economic growth is central to the Labor Party's agenda, focusing on job creation, livelihood improvement, and funding for public services.
• 🏭 The Labor Party plans to implement industrial and energy transition strategies to encourage business investment and growth in the UK.
• 🤝 The new government aims to strengthen the trade and investment partnership with India, a key aspect of the UK's growth strategy.
• 🔄 The Labor Party has been actively building connections with Indian politicians, signaling a commitment to deepening the India-UK relationship.
• 📝 There is a renewed focus on resuming Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between the UK and India for a swift and mutually beneficial conclusion.
• 🤖 The potential for increased technology and innovation collaboration between the UK and India, involving both businesses and academic institutions, is highlighted.
• 🛡️ The defense and security partnership between the UK and India is expected to become increasingly important in the current geopolitical context.
• 🌐 Strengthening people-to-people connections, including facilitating the movement of workers and students between the UK and India, is crucial for the partnership.
• 📊 There has been a significant increase in the number of Indians working in the UK, particularly in high-skilled jobs, positively impacting the UK economy.
• 🎓 Record numbers of Indian students came to the UK in 2023, and despite a potential dip due to rule reviews, the UK remains open to Indian talent post-graduation.
• 🗣️ The discussion emphasizes the need for clarity in migration rules and a focus on the positive contributions of Indian workers and students to the UK.

Q & A

Who is the new Prime Minister of the UK after the recent election?

The new Prime Minister of the UK is Kier Starmer, following the Labor Party's landslide victory.

What are the primary expectations of UK citizens from the Labor Party?

UK citizens have high expectations from the Labor Party, particularly in addressing the cost of living and inflation issues, which were central to the election.

How has the UK economy been performing in relation to inflation and growth?

The UK economy has been going through a cost of living crisis but is starting to emerge from it, with inflation backing down and growth beginning to return.

What are the Labor Party's main focuses for economic growth?

The Labor Party focuses on economic growth by creating jobs, improving livelihoods, and raising funds for public service improvements.

What role does trade and investment play in the new government's plan for economic growth?

Trade and investment are important for economic growth, with the government looking to establish industrial and energy transition strategies to incentivize business investment and growth.

How has the Labor Party been building connections with India?

The Labor Party has been actively building connections with India, with key members meeting with Indian politicians and focusing on strengthening the partnership between the two countries.

What are the key areas of focus for the UK-India relationship under the Labor government?

Key areas of focus include resuming Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, enhancing technology and innovation cooperation, strengthening defense and security partnerships, and facilitating people-to-people connections through worker and student mobility.

What is the current state of FTA negotiations between the UK and India?

The FTA negotiations are a priority, with the aim to bring them to a swift and positive conclusion that benefits both parties.

How has the UK's stance been towards Indian students and workers in recent years?

The UK has been open and welcoming to Indian students and workers, with a significant increase in the number of Indians working in the UK, particularly in skilled jobs and public services.

What are the implications of the recent increase in Indian workers and students in the UK?

The increase has had a positive impact on the UK economy and public services, with Indian workers contributing to various sectors including finance, IT services, NHS, and care.

How does the new Labor government view the migration issue, especially concerning Indian students and workers?

While the previous government conducted a review of post-study work rules, the Labor government is expected to maintain an open stance, allowing Indian students to stay and work after graduation, with hopes for clarity and positive perception in the debate.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ New UK Prime Minister and Implications for India-UK Relations

The UK has elected a new Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, following a landslide victory for the Labor Party. This paragraph discusses the expectations of the UK citizens from the new government, particularly regarding the cost of living and inflation. It also touches upon the economic growth strategies of the Labor Party, including industrial and energy transition policies, and the importance of trade and investment partnerships, especially with India. The UK India Business Council's managing director, Kevin McColl, highlights the need to resume Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, enhance technology and innovation cooperation, strengthen defense and security ties, and facilitate people-to-people connections between the two countries.

05:00

🌐 India-UK Migration and Student Mobility Under Labor Government

This paragraph delves into the contentious issue of migration in the UK, especially concerning Indian students and workers. It provides data showing a significant increase in the number of Indians working in the UK, particularly in high-skilled jobs, and the impact this has had on the UK economy. The discussion also covers the record number of Indian students in the UK and the potential dip in student numbers due to recent rule reviews by the previous government. However, it notes the retention of rules allowing Indian graduates to work post-study, expressing hope for continued positive migration flows and a focus on clarifying arrangements to foster the India-UK relationship further in areas such as FTA, R&D collaboration, and defense and security partnerships.

Keywords

💡Prime Minister K stama

Prime Minister K stama refers to the newly elected leader of the United Kingdom from the labor party. This term is central to the video's theme, as it sets the stage for discussing the implications of the new leadership on various aspects such as the economy, public services, and international relations, including ties with India.

💡Landslide Victory

A 'landslide victory' indicates a decisive win in an election, often by a large margin. In the context of the video, it describes the extent of the labor party's triumph over the conservatives, which is significant as it reflects the public's expectations and the mandate for the new government to enact change.

💡Cost of Living Crisis

The 'cost of living crisis' refers to a situation where the expenses of daily life, such as housing, food, and utilities, become increasingly unaffordable for many people. The script mentions this crisis as a key issue that led to the labor party's focus on economic growth to improve livelihoods and fund public services.

💡Inflation

Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising, and subsequently, the purchasing power of currency is falling. The script discusses how the UK is emerging from a period of high inflation, which is a critical economic indicator tied to the new government's performance.

💡Economic Growth

Economic growth is the increase in the production of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. The video emphasizes the labor party's focus on economic growth as a means to create jobs, improve living standards, and fund public services, which is central to their agenda.

💡Trade and Investment Partnership

A 'trade and investment partnership' involves two or more countries working together to facilitate commerce and capital flows. The script highlights the importance of this type of partnership between the UK and India under the new government, indicating a potential area of focus for strengthening bilateral relations.

💡FTA Negotiations

FTA stands for Free Trade Agreement, which is a treaty between two or more countries that reduces or eliminates trade barriers such as tariffs. The script mentions resuming FTA negotiations as a priority for the new government, aiming for a swift and mutually beneficial conclusion.

💡Technology and Innovation

The terms 'technology' and 'innovation' refer to the creation and application of new methods, ideas, and products. The video discusses the potential for increased collaboration in these areas between the UK and India, including academic institutions, as a key aspect of the bilateral relationship.

💡Defense and Security Partnership

A 'defense and security partnership' involves cooperation between countries in matters of military and security policy. The script identifies this as an increasingly important aspect of the UK-India relationship, especially in the current geopolitical context.

💡People-to-People Connections

People-to-people connections refer to the interactions and relationships between individuals across different countries. The video emphasizes the importance of facilitating and streamlining the movement of workers and students between the UK and India to strengthen the partnership.

💡Migration

Migration is the movement of people from one region or country to another with the intent to settle, temporarily or permanently. The script discusses migration in the context of contentious issues in the UK, particularly regarding students and the mobility between India and the UK, which is relevant to the new government's policies.

Highlights

UK has a new Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, following the Labour Party's landslide victory over the Conservatives.

Citizens' expectations from the Labour Party are high, particularly regarding cost of living and inflation issues.

The UK is emerging from a cost of living crisis, with inflation rates decreasing and economic growth resuming.

Labour Party focused on economic growth to create jobs, improve livelihoods, and fund public services.

Industrial and energy transition strategies will incentivize businesses to invest and grow in the UK.

Trade and investment partnerships are crucial for the UK's economic growth under the new government.

Labour Party has been actively building connections with Indian politicians to strengthen the India-UK relationship.

FTA negotiations are expected to resume with the aim of reaching a swift and positive conclusion.

Potential for increased technology and innovation collaboration between the UK and India, including academic institutions.

Defense and security partnership is set to become increasingly important in the geopolitical context.

People-to-people connections, including facilitating the movement of workers and students, are vital for strengthening the India-UK partnership.

Migration has been a contentious issue in the UK, with implications for student mobility between India and the UK.

There has been a significant increase in the number of Indians working in the UK, particularly in high-skilled jobs.

Indian students' numbers in the UK reached a record high in 2023, with approximately 160,000 students.

The previous UK government retained rules allowing Indian students to work after graduation.

The new Labour government is expected to provide clarity on migration rules and address negative perceptions.

Focus will be on driving the India-UK relationship forward through positive aspects such as FTA, R&D collaboration, and defense and security partnership.

Transcripts

UK has a new prime minister K stama

after the labor party won a landslide

Victory against the conservatives but

what does the new prime minister and the

labor government mean for the

relationship between India and the

United Kingdom I have with me the UK IBC

managing director Kevin MCO to answer

some of the questions related to

business and the relationship between

the two countries many thanks Kevin for

speaking with n TV my first question is

though not about the ties between India

and the United Kingdom but solely about

why the citizens of the UK have so

overwhelmingly voted in favor of the

labor party now it shows that they have

huge expectations from the labor party

uh with regards to cost of living and

inflation some of the issues that have

been at the core of this election what

do you think is their expectation first

expectation from the new government you

rightly said you know the UK has been

going through a cost of living crisis

for the last couple of years but it's

actually starting to emerge from that

now inflation has backed down around the

target of 2% interest rates are going to

be coming down as well and growth has

started to come back into our economy so

in in many ways I think the the UK

economy has has turned a corner but

saying that you know the the labor party

in opposition in throughout this

campaign have been focusing on the

importance of economic growth both in

terms of creating jobs and improving

improving livelihoods for people but

also to raise the funds to make

improvements to the public services as

well so economic growth is going to be

at the heart of what they do as some of

that will be domestic um talking about

having industrial strategies and energy

transition strategies that will uh

incentivize and encourage and enable

businesses to invest and to grow in the

UK and to um give them that uh policy

transparency and policy continuity that

they need but also growth is going to be

an important source of growth is going

to be from trade and investment and I

think that's where um one element of the

UK and their partnership is going to be

important for the new UK govern

government it's that trade and

investment partnership so Kevin what

should we be expecting from here on as

far as the India UK relationship is

concerned under the labor government

well what we've seen over the last year

certainly the last six months is the the

labor party in opposition really

starting to focus on India and build its

connections with Indian politicians I'm

thinking here of when Dr J Shanker the

external affairs minister was in London

last November he met with Kier starmer

who's now the Prime Minister Angela

rener um the sh who Deputy Prime

Minister and with the shadow foreign

minister and other members of that um

Shadow cabinet so that started back in

November and then in February this year

Angela Rena Deputy PM David Lamy Shadow

foreign minister and Jonathan Reynolds

who was the shadow business secretary

all went to India during February and

met with a range of people across

government and across business so that

kind of a work and engagement has been

ongoing and in our discussions with

those uh senior politicians it's been

really clear how committed they are to

the Indian partnership and to in taking

it to new levels and for for as at ukbc

there are four or five things I think

that are important here one is to resume

those FTA negotiations and hopefully

bring them to a Swift and positive

win-win in conclusion we also see huge

potential for even more technology and

Innovation and co-creation been done

between the UK and India including not

just businesses but also academic

institutions as well think the defense

and security partnership is going to be

ever more important uh this is a you

know a geopolitical context wein where

you know everyone needs all the friends

they can get and I think the UK and

India are good friends and they can

thicken that relationship ship further

and then the other element of the UK

India partnership perhaps the element

that pulls it all together is that all

important people to people connections

and so facilitating and streamlining

that two-way flow of workers and

students between the UK and India I

think will be really important element

of strengthening the partnership and

I'll take on the final question from

where you've left uh uh taking on from

the students issue now migration is an

issue uh that has been very contentious

in the United Kingdom how do you see

that panning out under the labor

government to considering that's also an

issue regarding uh students and Mobility

uh between India and the UK as well it's

a it's a good question it's a it's an

often debated one and I sometimes think

um some of the the facts are missing

from the the debates so um you know over

the last three four years uh there's

been a sharp increase in the number of

Indians who are coming to the UK to to

work and to to study there was a report

recently published by a think tank here

called the the UK in a changing Europe

which was published in partnership with

King's College London and they used UK

government statistics and uh they showed

that from the beginning of 2020 to the

end of 2023 the number of Indians

working in the UK had doubled to 870,000

so that's quite a sharp increase and um

really s positive impact on the UK uh

many of those people came to work in

highly paid highly skilled jobs in

financial and IT services uh and many

others came to work in the NHS in the

care sector so UK has been very open and

welcoming to Indians coming to support

our economy and to support our public

services and alongside that we've seen I

think last year 2023 record numbers of

Indians coming to the UK to study I

think round about

160,000 now those um student numbers uh

I think May dip a little this year

because the last UK government conducted

a review Into the the rules surrounding

working in the UK after studying but the

last UK government uh decided to retain

those rules that did allow Indian

students to stay and work after

graduation so I'm you know hopeful that

that really positive sort of flow of

people um from the UK from India to the

UK uh can continue I just hope that

there's more kind of a Clarity to those

arrangements and some of the negative

perceptions can be sort of taken out of

the debate so it allows us to focus on

the other positive aspects that will

really help to drive the relationship

forward for examp example the FTA R&D

collaboration and the defense and

security partnership kin M many thanks

for speaking with NDTV thanks MAA