London:

Britain’s opposition Labor Party is overhauling its outreach to British Indians amid concerns the party’s support among Britain’s largest ethnic minority has declined in recent years, according to media reports.

According to the 2021 British Census, Indians remain the largest Asian ethnic group and the largest non-white ethnic group in the UK, accounting for 3.1% of the UK’s total population of 1.8 million.

Keir Starmer’s Labor Party has introduced a series of measures aimed at reconnecting with British Indians, including hiring two community outreach volunteers, reorganizing the Friends of Indian Labour’s group and organizing Two senior shadow ministers are traveling to India, the Guardian newspaper reported on Thursday.

There is growing evidence that Labor has lost support among people of Indian origin.

In 2010, 61% of British Indians said they supported Labour, but a survey seen by the Guardian showed this had fallen to just 30% by 2019.

Senior Labor leaders fear that making Rishi Sunak the UK’s first Hindu prime minister could exacerbate this trend.

Focus groups conducted by Public First late last year among first, second and third generation Indians showed the problems facing Labour.

One attendee said Rishi Sunak’s stance showed “the tide is changing” for British Indians, while another commented: “He has brought the Indian community into the tradition of 10 Downing Street, That’s really good.” A general election must be held by January 2025 at the latest, but Rishi Sunak wants to delay the vote beyond next year in the unlikely event of it happening.

According to the 2021 Census, the number of Hindus in England and Wales is 1,032,775, accounting for 1.7% of the total population.

“For years we have taken Indian voters for granted, but it is increasingly clear that they are going elsewhere and we need to do something about it,” the newspaper quoted a party official as saying.

A Labor spokesman said: “Keir Starmer’s transformed Labor Party is back to work for working people and continues to engage with people of all backgrounds and faiths, including our Indian community.” Steps being taken by party supporters include A new group called Labor Indians was formed to organize community events and deliver targeted messages to British Indians on social media.

Krish Raval, chair of the organization, said: “As a canvassing umbrella initiative focused on campaign organizing and social media communications, we want to serve the broadest group of stakeholders to ensure a Labor win. ” Two volunteers have been hired to work with the group, and part of their work will focus on briefing Labor parliamentary candidates on issues important to India.

Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy and shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds will travel to Delhi and Mumbai on a five-day visit on Sunday, also aimed at showing that the party is not hostile to Indian interests.

Indians are the second largest immigrant group in the UK.

Nearly two-thirds of British Indians have supported Labour, along with other ethnic minority groups, for years.

But that number has dropped sharply in recent years.

Experts say the shift is partly socioeconomic and partly religious.

In recent years, as British Indians have become wealthier, survey data show that their attitudes have become more conservative.

The “Britain in a Changing Europe” survey shows that the majority of Hindus who voted in the 2019 general election supported the Conservative Party.

Jeremy Corbyn’s Labor Party has exacerbated these long-term trends because of his support for an independent Kashmir – a view deeply unpopular among India’s Hindus.

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