New Delhi:

Out with the old, and in with the new (sort of), UK voters said Friday, handing Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives a thumping defeat in the general election, stripping it off nearly 250 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. And Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour has been handed the keys to the castle.

Mr Starmer and his ‘new’ Labour will now form the next government. Addressing a cheering crowd of party faithfuls at a dawn victory rally in central London, he declared the UK “gets its future back”.

The scale of the Tories defeat is singular; in power for 14 years, the party was routed in Wales and Scotland, and saw some of its biggest leaders, including ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss, beaten.

Labour’s Landslide

But perhaps the most chastening blow – the BBC is reporting the Conservatives have lost seats, in the shire counties of England, that they have held since the early 20th century. For example, Labour’s Joe Morris beat the Tory’s Guy Opperman to end the Tory’s 100-year hold on the Hexham seat.

READ | “I Am Sorry”: Rishi Sunak Concedes Defeat In UK Polls

The Conservatives are set for one of their worst ever returns in a general election, and Labour, with over 400 seats, its best. Exit polls had predicted just such a scenario, giving Mr Starmer 405 seats.

Conservatives’ Collapse

Rishi Sunak, the outgoing PM, called for an early election in May.

The warning signs were present then; indeed, they had been present for several weeks, if not months, prior, as UK voters battled a cost-of-living crisis, a growing immigration problem, and poor infrastructure and healthcare, among other issues, and the Tories a serious image problem.

READ | Labour Sweeps UK Polls, Rishi Sunak’s Part’s First Loss Since 2010

At that point the Conservatives – asking the British public for permission to install a sixth Prime Minister since 2010 – were already 20 points behind a rejuvenated Labour, but Mr Sunak seemed to believe he could close and overhaul the gap. Unfortunately, this did not happen.

Why Labour Beat Conservative?

Take your pick. But the crumbling NHS, or National Health Service, and the state of the economy, and attendant concerns like price rise, are high on the list of reasons for the defeat.

A poll by IPSOS Issues Index in June said concerns over slashing of funding for the NHS – a free public healthcare scheme that any other country would love to have – was top of the list, followed by the economy, immigration, price rise, housing and schools, defence and anti-terrorism, and crime.

Mr Sunak scored poorly on all these points, including overseeing the country’s lowest growth rate since the early 19th century and a steep cost-of-living increase, the highest in 41 years.

The British economy has slowed significantly over the past decade, even accounting for the global crisis triggered by the Covid pandemic. GDP per capita grew just 4.3 per cent from 2007 to 2023.

In the previous 16 years that figure was a massive 46 per cent.

This meant incomes stagnated.

A report by the nonpartisan Centres for Cities research institute indicated Britons, on average, had £10,200 less to save or spend between 2010 and 2022, compared to 1998-2010 growth rates.

And the UK’s national debt – £2.7 trillion – is higher than at any point since the 1960s.

There did seem to be some relief soon; in May the International Monetary Fund spoke of a “soft landing” for the economy, and upgraded the growth forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 0.7.

And it was, perhaps, on the back of that expectation Mr Sunak called for the early election.

The NHS is seen by many to be the crown in the British government’s public services.

The Conservatives had repeatedly stressed the importance of the NHS, but that concern seemed not to translate into on-ground support for doctors, nurses, and medical professionals.

Budgetary allocations under the Tories paint a clear picture. Since they came to power in 2010 healthcare spending has grown by an average of 2.8 per cent per year, compared to 3.6 per cent in the past 50. This includes the period of the pandemic.

In April there were an estimated 7.6 million people waiting for treatment under the NHS scheme, of which over 50,000 had been on the list for more than a year. The median wait time was 14 weeks.

The number of people waiting for medical aid, including those with serious conditions, has tripled under Conservative rule, according to data from the NHS published by Al Jazeera.

Brexit had its say too, with movement restrictions meaning medical professionals from mainland Europe could either not be hired or chose not to sign up. As horrible as this sounds, this was good news for India, with the NHS turning to its former colony to fill over 2,000 doctors’ posts.

Immigration was also an issue. Mr Sunak’s government had promised to crack down on illegal entrants into the UK, but its Rwanda policy – supposed to act as a major deterrent – failed to deliver.

In fact, two years after its announcement not one plane has taken off for the African nation.

According to Sky News, the Conservatives have spent over £300 million on this scheme, which they said would deter illegal immigrants entering the UK on small boats across the English Channel.

Under this policy, those caught would be sent to Rwanda while they apply for asylum.

As of March-end a total of 1.18 lakh people are waiting for an initial decision on their application.

The rising cost of living and skyrocketing house prices, as well as steep increases in rental prices, have also been a problem the Conservatives seemed not to be able to control.

Truss, Johnson’s Contributions

It wasn’t just Mr Sunak’s failures that led to the Conservatives’ downfall.

Boris Johnson was elected as the Tories’ leader and the PM in July 2019, shortly before the pandemic struck. His dishevelled appearance and chaotic leadership precipitated a revolt by his ministers and, of course, the ‘Partygate’ scandal that referred to parties at 10, Downing Street during a lockdown.

Mr Johnson resigned in June last year following an investigation that he called a “witch hunt”.

He was followed by Ms Truss – the UK’s fourth female PM and its shortest-serving leader.

READ | UK In Crisis: Why Country Has Seen 3 PMs In 3 Years

Ms Truss – who lost her South West Norfolk seat – faced criticism for the way it handled the economy, including a controversial mini-budget that led to market turmoil. Her leadership was further undermined by U-turns on policy and a loss of confidence among MPs.

What Now For Labour?

Mr Starmer’s leadership has been pivotal in Labour’s revival.

Since taking up the role in early 2020, he has repositioned the party to the centre, and fixed problems within the party that include in-fighting and anti-Semitism. 

Looking forward, he will want to avoid repeats of the Tories’ mistakes, including October 2022, when Ms Truss’ government proposed unfunded tax cuts that spooked markets and tanked the pound.

That ill-advised move cost her her job.

“We did it. Thank you truly… you have changed our country,” Mr Starmer told triumphant supporters at a victory rally in central London. “(But) a mandate like this comes with a great responsibility… Today we start the next chapter… begin the work of change, the mission of national renewal, and start to rebuild.”

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London:

The campaign director for Rishi Sunak’s ruling Conservatives has stepped aside following reports that he and his wife were under investigation for allegedly betting on the UK general election date.

Conservative Campaign Headquarters on Thursday said that Tony Lee “took a leave of absence” on Wednesday, and the Gambling Commission was looking into “a number of individuals”.

The regulator made no mention of identities but the BBC reported that Lee and his wife Laura Saunders, who is standing as a candidate in the July 4 poll, were under investigation.

Her lawyers said she would “be co-operating with the Gambling Commission” and claimed the report infringed her privacy rights.

The commission was already looking at claims that another would-be MP, Craig Williams, who served as Sunak’s ministerial aide, staked £100 ($127) on the date before it was called.

London’s Metropolitan Police has also said one of Sunak’s security detail — a police officer — was arrested for allegedly placing a bet on the date.

Political bets are allowed in the UK, including on the date of the election, but using insider knowledge to do so is against the law.

The formal inquiry heaps further misery on Sunak, whose party has trailed Labour by about 20 points in the polls for nearly two years, making it odds on to be dumped out of office after 14 years.

On the campaign trail, senior minister Michael Gove admitted to reporters that the situation “doesn’t look great”, even if he could not comment on the specifics.

But earlier he said that the “broad principle” of using inside information to place bets was “reprehensible”.

Labour leader Keir Starmer, tipped to succeed Sunak in Downing Street, urged the prime minister to withdraw his support for those allegedly involved.

“It’s astonishing that we’re in this place… The government, Rishi Sunak, just needs to take action. He needs to account for exactly who knew what,” he said.

Labour’s campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden separately wrote to Sunak and said the claims were “a pattern of behaviour” in the Tories focused on making “a quick profit”.

Ed Davey, who leads the smaller Liberal Democrats, said the allegations smacked of “corruption”. “It needs to have a heavy hand from the top,” he added.

Wipe-out?

Sunak announced the date of the election on May 22, in a rain-soaked statement outside Downing Street, taking his own party by surprise as he still had six months to call a vote.

Critics lambasted him for not using an umbrella and the campaign has hardly shifted the dial in his favour since then, even with indications the British economy has turned a corner.

One reporter asked him if he was the captain of a sinking ship at a photocall in Belfast, near where the doomed Titanic was built.

This week, he was ignored by a flock of sheep as he tried to feed them in southwest England while personally his ratings have suffered after he left early from a D-Day 80th anniversary commemoration event.

Two polls published on Wednesday predicted a record win for Labour, eclipsing even the landslide victory for former leader Tony Blair in 1997, and a historic drubbing for the Tories.

Pollsters YouGov said the Conservatives could slump to their “lowest seat tally in the party’s almost 200-year history”.

Sunak could even become the first sitting prime minister to lose his own seat, according to a Savanta survey.

The Metropolitan Police said its officer, a member of the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command, was held on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, then released on bail.

The force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The allegations against Williams came to light last week. He is alleged to have placed a bet on a July date for the election three days before Sunak called the vote.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

London:

The UK’s Graduate Route scheme popular with Indian students as a post-study work offer is safe for now as the government announced on Thursday that it will be kept “under review”, as it set out proposals to crack down on student visas to ensure they aren’t used as a “gateway to immigration”.

The measures followed the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealing a 10 per cent fall in net migration, welcomed by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the first official day of his campaign for a general election now set for July 4. Curbing migration, legal and illegal, is among the British Indian leader’s top priorities as he makes his case to the electorate.

“Since I became Prime Minister, net migration has fallen by 10 per cent. The plan is working. Let’s stick with it,” he said.

The Home Office pointed out that the ONS figures released this week do not take into account stricter visa rules on family dependents that were enforced earlier this year, pointing to a 25 per cent drop in visa applications since then.

Under further tougher measures, it said it will regulate the recruitment of international students, “cracking down on rogue recruitment agents” who encourage people to apply to British universities by mandating universities to sign up to a “stringent framework for agents’. Tougher compliance standards for institutions recruiting students from overseas will be introduced under which universities that accept international students who then fail to pass visa checks, enroll or complete their courses, will risk losing their sponsor licence.

“Applications are already falling sharply…but we must go further to make sure our immigration routes aren’t abused. That’s why we are cracking down on rogue international agents and, building on work across government, to ensure international students are coming here to study, not work,” said UK Home Secretary James Cleverly.

With reference to the Graduate Route, the Home Office took note of the independent Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) warning in a rapid review last week that rogue recruitment agents pose a threat to the system, with poor practices exploiting student and graduate visa holders who are “mis-sold” UK higher education.

Since migrants on the student route transition directly to the Graduate Route, immediate action is necessary, the Home Office said, adding that it also remains concerned that the scheme is not attracting the “highest earners who contribute to our economy” after an analysis from the tax department.

“New proposals will further crack down on student visas, ensuring only genuine students can come to the UK; [Graduate] Route will be kept under review,” the Home Office added.

This implies that the route is safe at least until the election, when a newly elected government will take a decision on its future course.

“We are absolutely delighted and very relieved that the UK government has taken the right decision to keep the Graduate Route as this is critical for Indian students. We are very pleased also that the focus will instead be on regulating agents,” said Sanam Arora, Chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK, which has been lobbying in favour of the post-study visa.

Among other measures planned, financial maintenance requirements will be raised, so international students will have to prove their financial self-sufficiency. The government said it is already reviewing English language assessments with the objective of standardising independent assessments, ensuring all international students are equipped with the skills to understand their course materials – or they shouldn’t expect a place at a UK university.

Restrictions on remote delivery will also ensure all overseas students are predominantly undertaking face-to-face courses, the Home Office said.

The latest set of proposals form part of the Sunak-led government’s overall plan to cut legal migration, which it says would mean 300,000 who arrived last year would be unable to do so under its tougher new rules.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with his Singapore counterpart during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of G-20 summit in New Delhi on September 9, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Dan Kitwood

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has agreed a new strategic partnership with Singapore during a meeting with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the margins of the G20 Summit in New Delhi on September 9.

Following the new U.K.-Singapore Strategic Partnership, Downing Street said both countries will work to conclude a “new and modern” bilateral investment treaty – the first the UK has negotiated since Brexit.

The pact is expected to give Singaporean companies more confidence to invest in the UK and vice-versa, creating jobs and growth for both economies.

“This new agreement with Singapore will take us even further in delivering our priorities and ensure that, as we map the future of the world economy, we are doing so alongside our closest partners,” said Mr. Sunak in a statement from Delhi.

“As Prime Minister, I’ve put the interests of the British people front and centre of my international engagement. I am ensuring that diplomacy delivers. You have already seen that through deals that will stop illegal migration, make our economy more secure and increase trade with our international partners,” he said.

Downing Street pointed out that the U.K. has forged a number of new bilateral and multilateral partnerships since Mr. Sunak took charge as Prime Minister, with an FTA with India still some way to go after 12 rounds of negotiations.

“We are in the process of negotiating further free trade agreements (FTAs), including a deal with India which would be the first the country has signed with a European country,” it said.

In addition to enhanced economic cooperation, the new U.K.-Singapore Strategic Partnership is expected to strengthen security cooperation, science and technology innovation, and research and development.

This includes collaboration to counter new and emerging threats in domains like cyber, through a first-of-its-kind partnership between Singapore’s new Digital and Intelligence Service and the UK, Downing Street said.

According to official data, the U.K.-Singapore trade relationship is worth 21 billion pounds, accounting for 40 per cent of Britain’s total trade with Southeast Asia, and Singaporean entities have a total of 226 billion pounds invested in the UK.

Mr. Sunak arrived in New Delhi on Friday for the G20 Leaders’ Summit and started the three-day visit with an interaction with British Council students and staff with wife Akshata Murty ahead of the first set of official multilateral discussions taking place on Saturday.

“15 years ago, G-20 leaders came together for the first time to restore global growth after the financial crisis. We meet at a time of enormous challenges – the world is looking to the G-20 once again to provide leadership. Together I believe we can address these challenges,” he tweeted from the summit.

The United Kingdom is “working closely with India to tackle Khalistani extremism”, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Friday evening, shortly after landing in Delhi to take part in the G20 Summit – a meeting of one of the world’s most influential power blocs. Mr Sunak stressed that the UK would not accept any form of violence, and that the two countries are collaborating to end this threat.

“This (the Khalistani issue) is a really important question… let me just say, unequivocally, no form of extremism or violence like that is acceptable in the UK. And that is why we are working very closely with the Indian government to tackle ‘PKE’ (pro-Khalistan extremism),” the UK leader said.

“Our Security Minister was recently in India… we have groups working together to share intelligence so we can root out this kind of violent extremism. It’s not right and I won’t tolerate it in the UK.”

The UK minister, Tom Tugendhat, was in Delhi last month and vowed to ensure the security of Indian diplomatic staff in London. He said the British government is aware of India’s concerns and stressed that “any attempt to radicalise people in the UK will be dealt with by the authorities”.

READ | Taking Steps To Secure Indian Mission: UK Minister After Khalistan Attacks

“Let me be very clear about this. This is not an Indian problem in the UK. Whenever there is radicalisation in the UK of UK citizens, this is a British problem. And so any attempt to radicalise any UK citizen in any direction will be dealt with by the British government,” he had said.

Khalistani Attacks On India In UK

In March, pro-Khalistan elements shouting separatist slogans attacked the Indian High Commission in London and pulled down the national flag from a pole in front of the building. This was a day after police in Punjab launched an intensive manhunt for radical preacher Amritpal Singh.

The attack was decried by the UK’s Business and Trade Minister as a “disgrace”.

READ |Attack On India Mission In London A “Disgrace”: UK Trade Secretary

India-UK FTA

Last month it was reported India and the UK are in the “final stages” of talks. Today, Mr Sunak said “Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and I are keen to see the comprehensive and ambitious trade deal concluded…”, but cautioned “trade deals always take time… they need to work for both countries”.

On the topic of India-UK ties, he spoke about areas of co-operation, including technology, telling ANI, “… excited about increasing collaboration between our incredible researchers, scientific community, universities. The UK and India are two of the leading technology superpowers… if we work together we can create jobs, create new businesses, and help solve some of the world’s pressing problems.”

Sunak On G20 And India

Ahead of the G20 Summit, Mr Sunak spoke to news agency ANI on a range of issues, including the India-UK Free Trade Agreement and the Indian roots of his family, of which much has been made since he was voted to power in October last year. He also declared himself “a proud Hindu”.

Mr Sunak praised India’s presidency of the G20, declaring it to be “the right country at the right time” to be hosting the summit. “The G20 has been a huge success for India… (I) feel we will have a very good couple of days of deliberations and decisions…” he told ANI.

On India’s G20 theme – “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam“, or “One Earth, One Family” – Mr Sunak described himself as “an example of the incredible living bridge” and the summit’s motto.

India assumes presidency of the G20 – which rotates between member nations – for 2023 and a decked-up national capital will play host to the 19 other members over the next three days.