Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Labour seeks ‘strategic partnership’ with India

Seema Malhotra MP visited Tamil Nadu and Kerala this month

Labour seeks ‘strategic partnership’ with India

LABOUR’S shadow business minister, Seema Malhotra, has backed calls for greater trade links between Britain and India on a visit to Tamil Nadu and Kerala this month.

Malhotra, who represents Feltham and Heston in London, visited both states ahead of India hosting the G20 summit in September.


In June, party leader Sir Keir Starmer said in a speech that a Labour government will seek a serious and deep diplomatic relationship with India.

During her visit, Malhotra visited businesses, universities and colleges, and met diplomats to understand national and state-level priorities for the economy, business and trade and areas of common interest.

image3 Seema Malhotra MP in discussion with Tamil Nadu minister Mano Thangaraj

Meetings were also organised by the Indian Business Network, which was founded a few years ago and which works to support links with diaspora businesses across the UK and the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

In addition, Malhotra addressed 300 students at the Soka Ikeda women’s college in Chennai, which supports young women from families in rural areas to attend college for the first time. The MP was joined in some of the engagements by others from the UK, including Pushpakala Vinoth Kumar, a former journalist and Feltham Tamil Makkal coordinator; and City of London Common councillor Rehana Ahmed. She also convened the UK India Friendship meet held at the Amir Mahal Palace and hosted by the titular Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammad Abdul Ali.

LEAD Seema INSET Trivandrum with UST CEO Alex Varghese at the company’s campus in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Malhotra was a keynote speaker at the event, which was attended by senior business leaders from a range of sectors, representatives from almost 10 embassies, politicians, university vice-chancellors, technologists and health care leaders.

She said, “A Labour government will want to work with India, not only on a Free Trade Agreement, but also a new strategic partnership for global security, climate security, economic security. There are new opportunities – new technologies, new industries, new investments, where our interests clearly align.

“We want to see trade links not just from centre to centre, but from Indian regions to UK regions and nations – building on strengths like those of Tamil Nadu in the medical sector to life sciences clusters in the UK like Cambridge or the northeast of England.”

Malhotra highlighted the strength of the economic contribution of Indian businesses in the UK. This year’s Grant Thornton annual India Meets Britain Tracker identified 954 Indian companies operating in the UK, with a combined revenue of £50.5 billion.

thumbnail image2 Seema Malhotra MP and Sat Raj Saluja in UST Atrium ahead of Onam celebrations

She also noted the opportunities after the UK India Business Council signed an agreement with the government of Tamil Nadu in 2021, with the aim of boosting business and industrial development in Tamil Nadu and strengthening collaboration with British businesses in the state.

“I am pleased that alongside myself, senior figures from Labour’s top team are working with Indian business-led institutions in the UK, as well as visiting India, to hear what is important and how a strengthened partnership can build stronger links ... for the growth domestically and internationally of both our economies,” she said.

Malhotra also paid a short visit to Kerala and visited the UST campus, a global technology and professional services firm operating in the UK, which has a facility in the southern Indian state.

In addition, the shadow minister also spoke to senior women employees about her journey into politics and becoming Britain’s first female Punjabi MP, as well as Labour’s plans for tackling women’s inequality in society and the workplace.

More For You

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

Sir Sajid Javid (Photo by Tom Nicholson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

A cross-party group has been formed to tackle the deep divisions that sparked last summer's riots across England. The new commission will be led by former Tory minister Sir Sajid Javid and ex-Labour MP Jon Cruddas.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has backing from both prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. It brings together 19 experts from different political parties and walks of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Masum

Masum was seen on CCTV trying to steer the pram away and, when she refused to go with him, stabbed her multiple times before walking away and boarding a bus. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Habibur Masum convicted of murdering estranged wife in front of baby

A MAN who stabbed his estranged wife to death in Bradford in front of their baby has been convicted of murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, attacked 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter in broad daylight on April 6, 2024, stabbing her more than 25 times while she pushed their seven-month-old son in a pram. The baby was not harmed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

India declines UN investigator’s participation in Air India crash probe: Report

INDIA has declined a request from the United Nations aviation agency to allow one of its investigators to observe the probe into the Air India crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad on June 12, Reuters reported, citing two senior sources familiar with the matter.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had offered to provide assistance by sending one of its investigators, following the crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner earlier this month. It was an unusual move, as ICAO typically deploys investigators only upon request from the country leading the investigation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Anna Wintour

Wintour’s style of leadership earned her the nickname “Nuclear Wintour”

Getty Images

Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years

Key points

  • Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years
  • She will remain Vogue’s global editorial director and hold senior roles at Condé Nast
  • Wintour transformed US Vogue into a global fashion authority
  • The 75-year-old has received numerous honours, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom

End of an era at US Vogue

Anna Wintour has stepped down as the editor of US Vogue, bringing to a close a 37-year tenure that redefined the publication and saw her become one of the most influential figures in global fashion.

The announcement was made on Thursday (26 June) during a staff meeting in New York. Wintour, 75, will no longer oversee the day-to-day editorial operations of Vogue’s US edition. However, she will continue to serve as Vogue’s global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer, maintaining senior leadership roles across the company.

Keep ReadingShow less
Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

FILE PHOTO: A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

THE people responsible for the Post Office Horizon scandal may not face trial until 2028, according to the senior police officer leading the investigation.

Commander Stephen Clayman has said that the process is taking longer because police are now looking at a wider group of people, not just those directly involved in decisions about the faulty Horizon computer system, reported the Telegraph.

Keep ReadingShow less