When Britain’s Labour Party shifted its stance on Kashmir under Keir Starmer

In the past, the Labour Party has taken up matters such as alleged human rights violations and the Kashmir issue with India more vigorously than other British political parties.

In 2019, under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party had passed an emergency motion on the situation in Kashmir at its annual conference in September 2019.

The motion, which came in the wake of the Indian government’s decision to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in August 2019, said there was a humanitarian crisis in the region and that the Kashmiri people should be given the right of self-determination.

India had responded sternly, terming the move by the Corbyn-led Labour Party as “uninformed and unfounded.”

Several Labour MPs of Indian origin and others with large number of voters from the community also also faced a backlash over the resolution, which was seen as anti-India.

Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party in 2020, following a row over antisemitism. He contested the polls as an Independent candidate and won from the Islington North, the constituency he has represented since 1983.

Now, Starmer, who has been appointed as Britain’s prime minister, is likely to to fix the missteps made by his party in the past. His manifesto included a commitment to pursue a “new strategic partnership” with India.

“Labour will build and strengthen modern partnerships with allies and regional powers. We will seek a new strategic partnership with India, including a free trade agreement, as well as deepening cooperation in areas like security, education, technology and climate change,” it said.

Last month, Labour Party leader and now foreign secretary, David Lammy, had spoken of continuity in the approach towards India.

Addressing a session at the India Global Forum in London last month, Lammy described India as an economic and technological superpower that is “the future of Asia”. He said: “India contributes so much to British prosperity already. Last year, India was our second-largest foreign direct investment contributor. Over 950 Indian companies are employing over 100,000 people in the UK. But it could be so, so much more as India is only our 12th largest trade partner.”

He had also emphasised the need for a “reset and a relaunch” of the India-UK relationship because the Conservative Party had “time and time again over promised and under-delivered when it comes to India”.