LONDON: There has been a tangible shift in British Indian support away from the Conservatives at this election with many desis choosing to support Independents, Labour and Lib Dems.
A section are still supporting Conservatives but support is not as strong as 2019.
Walking through Slough Karpal Singh (76), who came to the UK in 1972, said: “All the Sikhs are voting Labour because they like Tan Dhesi.There are no jobs and things should be better with Labour.”
“The Tories need to go into Opposition. Any party that doesn’t do good service needs to learn,” said Kewal Kang (86), who arrived from Punjab in 1961.
A group of Indian citizen professionals are sitting in Starbucks. Vishal Srivastava (40), a scientist from UP, said: “In 2019 I voted Conservative. This time I will vote for the independent Chandra Sekhar Muvvala, a local councillor. I have seen the work he carries out and he is good… I would prefer the Conservatives to win as they will handle the economy better. I don’t think criticism of Rishi Sunak is justified but I feel Sunak could have focused more on generating jobs and manufacturing.”
Hirdesh Gupta (42), an IT professional who moved to the UK from UP seven years ago, said: “People are looking at who is the best candidate in their seat and who will support us, even if Labour… In 2019 Corbyn was Labour leader and his views angered all Indians. Labour has changed and so some people are going back to Labour. However I am a strong Conservative. I am worried Labour will bring out appeasement politics.”
Arpit Mehrotra (37), who works as an IT engineer in Slough and moved to UK in 2021 from Delhi, said he is voting Conservative. “He has stabilised the economy and built a good relationship with India. I want Rishi to stay as PM.”
In Ealing Southall, it is a race between Labour, who are fielding a new candidate, Deirdre Costigan, and Darshan Singh Azad who is standing for Workers Party of Britain.
Randeep Kaur (49), a care worker from Punjab who arrived here in 2021, said she was voting for Azad. “He speaks the same language as me and is Punjabi so understands our problems.”
But several Indian men working on the “paani puri” and street food stalls, said they are voting Labour. “I prefer Labour policies. They help the working classes. I don’t like the Tory policies at all. Brexit was bad and now all the bills have gone up,” said Faruqh Bajwa, who runs a stall in D Mall.
In Norwich Farhana Deeba (44), a shop manager, said she would be voting Labour. “The Tories only help rich people,” she said.
Varun Gosain (44), a software professional from Delhi who lives in Edinburgh, plans to vote Labour. “There has been a lot of chaos in the kind of govt the Conservatives have led. They have not been effective. The cost of living, NHS, everything has gone down. If you want to buy a house, interest rates are really high. Nothing has worked. At least in the Labour manifesto they are saying the right things. The Tories are also tightening the screws on legal migration. Rishi may be Indian and Hindu but he is head of govt so he is accountable.”
A section are still supporting Conservatives but support is not as strong as 2019.
Walking through Slough Karpal Singh (76), who came to the UK in 1972, said: “All the Sikhs are voting Labour because they like Tan Dhesi.There are no jobs and things should be better with Labour.”
“The Tories need to go into Opposition. Any party that doesn’t do good service needs to learn,” said Kewal Kang (86), who arrived from Punjab in 1961.
A group of Indian citizen professionals are sitting in Starbucks. Vishal Srivastava (40), a scientist from UP, said: “In 2019 I voted Conservative. This time I will vote for the independent Chandra Sekhar Muvvala, a local councillor. I have seen the work he carries out and he is good… I would prefer the Conservatives to win as they will handle the economy better. I don’t think criticism of Rishi Sunak is justified but I feel Sunak could have focused more on generating jobs and manufacturing.”
Hirdesh Gupta (42), an IT professional who moved to the UK from UP seven years ago, said: “People are looking at who is the best candidate in their seat and who will support us, even if Labour… In 2019 Corbyn was Labour leader and his views angered all Indians. Labour has changed and so some people are going back to Labour. However I am a strong Conservative. I am worried Labour will bring out appeasement politics.”
Arpit Mehrotra (37), who works as an IT engineer in Slough and moved to UK in 2021 from Delhi, said he is voting Conservative. “He has stabilised the economy and built a good relationship with India. I want Rishi to stay as PM.”
In Ealing Southall, it is a race between Labour, who are fielding a new candidate, Deirdre Costigan, and Darshan Singh Azad who is standing for Workers Party of Britain.
Randeep Kaur (49), a care worker from Punjab who arrived here in 2021, said she was voting for Azad. “He speaks the same language as me and is Punjabi so understands our problems.”
But several Indian men working on the “paani puri” and street food stalls, said they are voting Labour. “I prefer Labour policies. They help the working classes. I don’t like the Tory policies at all. Brexit was bad and now all the bills have gone up,” said Faruqh Bajwa, who runs a stall in D Mall.
In Norwich Farhana Deeba (44), a shop manager, said she would be voting Labour. “The Tories only help rich people,” she said.
Varun Gosain (44), a software professional from Delhi who lives in Edinburgh, plans to vote Labour. “There has been a lot of chaos in the kind of govt the Conservatives have led. They have not been effective. The cost of living, NHS, everything has gone down. If you want to buy a house, interest rates are really high. Nothing has worked. At least in the Labour manifesto they are saying the right things. The Tories are also tightening the screws on legal migration. Rishi may be Indian and Hindu but he is head of govt so he is accountable.”
