London:

One of the first challenges for Keir Starmer as the UK Prime Minister will be to restore the Labour Party’s ties with India, which has been tumultuous due to their remarks on Kashmir. Starmer led the party to a landslide win in the general elections, a result that spelt doom for Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.  

In the past, the Labour Party has often come under fire for their stand on the Kashmir issue. Their stance has been in stark contrast with the British government’s view that Kashmir is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan.

Under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, the party had in September 2019 passed an emergency motion seeking international observers to “enter” Kashmir and demand the right of self-determination for its people. It also called for Mr Corbyn to meet the high commissioners of both India and Pakistan to ensure there is “mediation” and restoration of peace and normality to prevent a potential nuclear conflict.

The resolution was slammed by India which called it an effort to “pander to vote-bank’s interest”.

Starmer, realising how important ties with the world’s fastest-growing economy are, set out on a mission to fix the missteps made by the party in the past. His manifesto included a commitment to pursue a “new strategic partnership” with India, emphasizing the trade agreement.

During meetings with the Indian diaspora and public addresses, Starmer affirmed that Kashmir is an internal issue and will be resolved by India and Pakistan.

“Any constitutional issues in India are a matter for the Indian Parliament, and Kashmir is a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve peacefully,” he said during a meeting with Labour Friends of India.

During his poll campaign, Starmer embarked on outreach efforts, denouncing Hinduphobia and celebrating cultural festivals like Diwali and Holi.

This policy adjustment aims to rebuild trust with the British-Indian community and foster stronger business ties with India, a critical aspect of Labour’s international agenda.

The Labour Party, out of power for over a decade, has also outlined a foreign policy of “progressive realism,” emphasizing pragmatic approaches to global challenges such as climate change and international security. Starmer’s manifesto includes plans for a new strategic partnership with India, focusing on trade agreements and cooperation in technology, security, education, and environmental issues.

Labour passed the magic number of 326 seats for a House of Commons majority just before 5 am on Friday, confirming a change of government that was predicted for months but is still a remarkable turnaround for Starmer’s party in a single electoral cycle. Starmer will now replace Sunak as prime minister on Friday, ending the Tories’ 14-year grip on power.

London:

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will on Monday say only his Conservatives can counter a Labour-led government and that a vote for Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK would hamper any chance of his party forming a strong opposition.

Appearing to all but concede defeat before Thursday’s election, Sunak will appeal to those voters on the political right who are considering voting for Farage’s party in protest at his Conservative government.

The Conservatives look set to be kicked out of office after 14 turbulent years, marked by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union in 2016 and the cost of living crisis that followed the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Opinion polls have consistently given Keir Starmer’s centre-left Labour Party an around 20-point lead, with support for Reform potentially splitting the centre-right vote and the centrist Liberal Democrats further draining Conservative support.

Sunak will say at a rally that Reform “just won’t win enough seats to oppose Labour”, saying the party had previously said it would be good to get a handful of members of parliament elected.

“Just imagine that: Hundreds and hundreds of Labour MPs opposed by just ‘one, two, three, four, five elected MPs’,” Sunak will say, according to extracts of his speech.

“A Labour government would be bad for our country, and an unchecked Labour government would be a disaster from which it would take decades to recover.”

Farage is one of Britain’s most recognisable and divisive politicians. He has spent decades railing against the establishment and the European Union, and has in recent years campaigned for Donald Trump in the United States.

He entered the election in early June, vowing to supplant the Conservatives as the main party of the right.

Polls appear to show that Reform’s support peaked in the second half of June, shortly before Farage said the West provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some of his candidates have been dropped for racist or inappropriate remarks.

While Britain’s electoral system means Reform may win millions of votes, the party is unlikely to win more than a handful of parliamentary seats. But that could be enough to split the right in many areas and hand victory to Labour.

Britain will likely elect a centre-left government as much of Europe swings right, including in France where Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally won the first round of a parliamentary election on Sunday.

With polls showing many voters are undecided, Sunak will make a final appeal for people to limit Labour’s power if it gets into government, saying: “We Conservatives will stand up for you and make sure your voice is heard, your values represented.”

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

In May 2024, to everyone’s shock, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced snap polls for July 4. Now, that means electing the members to the House of Commons, which will then determine the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party, in power for 14 years, is facing a formidable challenge from the Labour Party.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government, responsible for advising the sovereign on the exercise of the royal prerogative, chairing the Cabinet and selecting its ministers.

How a new PM is elected

• The UK holds a general election to choose Members of Parliament to represent their constituencies.
• The political party with the majority of seats in the House of Commons typically forms the government.
• The leader of the party with the most seats becomes the Prime Minister.
• The monarch (currently King Charles III) formally appoints the Prime Minister, usually the party leader with the most seats.
• The PM must maintain the confidence of the House of Commons, meaning they must command the support of a majority of MPs.
• If the PM loses the confidence of the House or their party loses a general election, they may resign or be replaced by a new PM.
• The office of the prime minister is not established by any statute or constitutional document but exists by a long-established convention.

Responsibilities of the Prime Minister
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom leads the government and the Cabinet, heading a major political party and typically controlling a majority in the House of Commons. This position wields significant legislative and executive powers.

The Prime Minister holds various responsibilities, including serving as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Minister for National Security and Minister for the Union. The Prime Minister’s official residence and office is 10 Downing Street in London.

The Prime Minister’s key responsibilities include guiding law-making in the House of Commons, appointing and managing Cabinet members and ministers and coordinating government departments and the Civil Service. The PM also represents the UK at home and abroad, serving as public face and voice of His Majesty’s Government.

The Prime Minister also advises the sovereign, playing a central and influential role in the UK government. It includes appointing judges, officials and ecclesiastical leaders as well as conferring honours and peerages. 

So far, fifty-seven people have served as UK Prime Minister, with Robert Walpole being the first (1721) and longest-serving (over 20 years), while Liz Truss was the shortest-serving (seven weeks). 

Polling day 

On July 4, voters will vote in person at polling stations from 7 am to 10 pm, or by post beforehand. 

Photo ID will be required for in-person voting, a first for a UK general election. Once polls close at 10 pm, an exit poll will be announced, based on a survey of voters in around 150 constituencies across England, Scotland and Wales.

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer take part in the BBC’s Prime Ministerial Debate, in Nottingham, England, on June 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

In a final and noisy pre-election debate on Wednesday night, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and opposition Labour Party Leader, Keir Starmer, argued loudly with each other on the cost of living, taxes and welfare, immigration and gender.

The Prime Minister, in danger of losing his Richmond (Yorkshire) seat, repeatedly warned voters over the 75-minute debate not to “surrender” to Labour on various fronts.

Mr. Sunak’s Conservative Party has been in power for 14 years, and has lagged behind Labour in opinion polls by around 20 points. Following the pandemic, Britons have seen four conservative Prime Ministers, crumbling public services (such as the National Health Service) and a cost of living crisis.

ALSO READ | Snap poll: On the surprise election announcement for the U.K.

The U.K.’s tax burden had hit record levels under the Sunak government. The independent Institute of Fiscal Studies warned earlier in the week that neither party was being upfront about the trade-offs that would have to be made between taxes and public services, which are already in disarray.

Mr. Sunak spoke over his opponent at length during the tax segment, accusing Mr. Starmer of planning a tax on pensions. “It is in their DNA. Mark my words. Your pension, your council tax your home, your car, you name it, they will tax it,” Mr. Sunak said.

On immigration, Mr. Starmer attacked the Prime Minister for the impracticality of the government’s plan to deport migrants with failed asylum claims to Rwanda. Mr Sunak argued that opposition leader did not have a plan and that it would be infeasible to return undocumented migrants to countries like Iran and Afghanistan.

The debate also went into some of Britain’s culture wars. The candidates were asked if they would protect women-only spaces. They both agreed on the equivalence of “sex” and “biological sex” but differed on the legal instruments required to achieve women-only spaces. Mr. Starmer accused the Tories of splitting people on a number of issues , as he cautioned people against transphobia.

Both candidates attempted to sidestep questions on mending Britain’s trading relationship with the European Union (EU). Pressed on the issue, Mr. Starmer said he would get a better deal with the EU including in research and development, as he pushed back against Mr. Sunak’s accusation that a better deal came with the free movement of EU citizens across the U.K. border.

Although Mr. Sunak trails Mr. Starmer in polls, Mr. Starmer also has low popularity.

During Wednesday’s debate, both candidates accused the other of making empty promises.

“Are you two really the best we’ve got to be the next prime minister of our great country?” a senior citizen in the audience, Robert Blackstock, asked.

“I get the frustrations, but think about the choice, allow me to finish the job I’ve started,” Mr. Sunak said as he suggested he would protect pensions from tax, “secure” borders, and have lower taxes that Labour.

“People feel like hope’s been beaten out of them,” Mr. Starmer said, arguing that Britons felt worse off now than they were 14 years ago when the Conservatives came to power.

He talked about his “working class” background and bringing a sense of service to politics.

Following the debate, Mr. Blackstock said he was disappointed with the answers both candidates had provided.

“From my perspective, we want a personality. We want somebody that we can recognise. We want somebody on the world stage, that is going to project our Great Britain. That’s what we want,” he said.

British opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer looks on as he visits Morrisons supermarket during a Labour general election campaign event in Wiltshire, Britain, June 19, 2024
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Two polls have found the UK’s Labour party was set to win a record-breaking number of seats and the incumbent Conservatives due for a historic drubbing in July’s general election.

With voters heading to the polls in just over two weeks time, the latest pair of nationwide surveys — by YouGov and Savanta/Electoral Calculus — showed Labour set to win either 425 or 516 out of 650 seats.

Either of the results would be the current opposition party’s best-ever return of MPs in a general election.

ALSO READ | Snap poll: On the surprise election announcement for the U.K.

Meanwhile, the twin polls showed support for the Tories — in power since 2010 — plummeting to unprecedented lows, with one estimating they would win just 53 seats.

The Savanta and Electoral Calculus survey for the Daily Telegraph newspaper predicted Rishi Sunak would become the first sitting U.K. prime minister ever to lose their seat at a general election.

The poll, which forecasts three-quarters of Mr. Sunak’s cabinet also losing their seats, would hand Labour a majority of 382 — more than double the advantage enjoyed by ex-prime minister Tony Blair in 1997.

It also showed the centrist Liberal Democrats just three seats behind the Conservatives on 50, and the Scottish National Party losing dozens of seats north of the English border.

Record Tory defeat?

The YouGov survey predicted Mr. Sunak’s party would win in just 108 constituencies.

That was a drop of 32 on its prediction from two weeks ago, reflecting how badly the Conservatives’ election campaign is perceived to have gone.

The 108 seats the Tories are predicted to win in the poll would still be their lowest number in the party’s near 200-year history of contesting U.K. elections.

Mr. Sunak is widely seen as having run a lacklustre and error-strewn campaign, including facing near-universal criticism earlier this month for leaving early from D-Day commemoration events in France.

In contrast, Labour leader Keir Starmer, set to become prime minister if his party prevails on July 4, has sought to play it safe and protect his party’s poll leads.

YouGov also found anti-EU populist Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party on course to win five seats, including in the Clacton constituency in eastern England where the Brexit figurehead is standing.

Mr. Farage has said he will attempt to co-opt what remains of the Conservative party if he is elected and it fares poorly on July 4.

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

“Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering restrictions to the U.K.’s post-study visa which allows graduates to stay on and work for up to two years after their degree course as part of efforts to curb soaring legal migration figures despite strong opposition from some of his Ministers,” a report claimed on May 19.

According to ‘The Observer’ newspaper, Mr. Sunak is facing a Cabinet revolt over plans to scrap the Graduate Route scheme, the definitive factor for choosing U.K. universities among Indian students who have topped the tally of these post-study visas since it was launched in 2021.

Downing Street is said to be considering “further restricting or even ending” the route despite the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) declaring it was not being abused and that it should continue as it helps U.K. universities make up for financial losses on the domestic front.

“Sunak is now finding himself caught between the demands of right-wingers with one eye on the Tory leadership and Conservative moderates who fear the consequences of a lurch to the right on the party’s reputation and election chances,” claims the newspaper, quoting sources close to Ministers who oppose scrapping the visa.

Mr. Sunak’s Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Foreign Secretary David Cameron are among those in the Cabinet said to be leading a revolt over the issue. It comes as university and business chiefs have warned that any curtailment of the post-study offer would make the U.K. less attractive to overseas students, including Indians.

“Studying at university is one of our biggest export successes. Attracting international students boosts local economies and losing competitiveness would put support for undergraduate teaching and innovation at risk,” said John Foster, Chief Policy and Campaigns Officer for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

“With the MAC finding that the Graduate Visa is achieving the government’s own policy objectives and is not being abused, it’s time to put its future beyond doubt and end this period of damaging speculation,” he said.

Universities UK (UUK), the leading representative body for UK universities, has also called upon the government to end the “toxic” uncertainty caused by the government’s decision to review the visa route.

“We hope and expect that the government now listens to the advice they have been given and provides categorical reassurance that the Graduate visa is here to stay,” said UUK chief executive Vivienne Stern.

MAC Chair Professor Brian Bell, who concluded the rapid review into the scheme earlier this week, has said that “our evidence suggests that it’s the Indian students that will be most affected by any restriction on the Graduate Route”.

The influential committee which advises the U.K. government on migration found that Indians accounted for 89,200 visas between 2021 and 2023 or 42% of the overall grants, and the visa was stated as the “overwhelming decision point” for their choice of a higher education destination.

“The uncertainty caused by the review has been chaotic. We urge the government to accept the MAC’s findings and ensure the Graduate Route remains a stable and permanent fixture in the U.K.’s immigration system,” said Vignesh Karthik from the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK.

In a general election year, expected in the coming months, the Sunak-led government sees curbing high legal and illegal migration figures as a priority area and with the latest set of quarterly immigration statistics due next week, further clampdowns are on the horizon.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure from members of his Cabinet to take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights, a move that could open a dramatic rift in the government ahead of a general election expected next year.

On the first day of the governing Conservative Party’s annual conference in Manchester, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove joined Business Secretary Kemi Badenooch in saying the UK’s membership of the ECHR, which some Tories blame for preventing the government from deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda, should be up for discussion. Home Secretary Suella Braverman is a long-time advocate of leaving the convention.

Mr Sunak has made stopping small boats carrying asylum-seekers arriving from France a key priority he wants voters to measure him by. Deporting arrivals to Rwanda is a central part of that policy, but the Strasbourg court that oversees the ECHR has intervened to block the effort. Meanwhile, the British Supreme Court is also expected to rule by the end of the year on whether the plan is legal.

Mr Sunak’s team expects to win the British case, but, should they fail, pressure on the premier to withdraw will grow. The UK should “keep every option open,” Gove said Sunday, when asked about the convention. Gove supported Badenoch to be party leader last year.

The issue is potentially seismic, given the UK was heavily involved in drafting and signed in 1951. Though not administered by the European Union, it has become a focal issue of Brexit supporters, who see it as enabling foreign control of Britain’s immigration policy. Pulling out would force Mr Sunak to again counter charges that the UK is surrendering its leadership on the world stage.

In the ECHR’s seven-decade history, only two nations have abandoned it: Greece did during a period of military rule, but later rejoined. President Vladimir Putin’s Russia also quit the framework. The treaty’s basic principles cover things like free elections, respect for property rights and access to education.

“I don’t feel that in order to achieve what we need to achieve, to protect our borders, we are necessitated to leave the ECHR,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.

Mr Sunak would also face an immediate headache if he took the UK out. The convention is written into the peace treaty which ended decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland in 1998. “What is the alternative for the Good Friday Agreement?” Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said.

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