UK elections: what is Keir Starmer's Kashmir stance?

The Labour Party has often taken a tough stance on Kashmir's territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, and the onus will be on to-be prime minister Kier Starmer to maintain friendly ties. While interacting with Indian diaspora, he suggested against international intervention in Kashmir.

"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," Starmer said at a political rally, as per NDTV.

A Free Trade Agreement between India and UK has also been long overdue. Immigration policies for students also hang in the balance.

“We will finalise a free trade agreement with India, alongside a deeper strategic partnership on technology and defence,” reads the Conservative Party manifesto, spelling out the British Indian leader's vision.

Under the Scotland section, the party manifesto references one of the UK’s key asks in the agreement to “press for the permanent removal of tariffs on Scotch whisky with the US government and work to achieve a significant tariff reduction in India through free trade agreement discussions”.

The Labour Party, meanwhile, has been focussed on highlighting how they stand ready to get the FTA over the line after the Tories missed their Diwali 2022 deadline.

“Many Diwalis have come and gone without a trade deal and too many businesses have been left waiting," David Lammy, the party’s shadow foreign secretary, said in his address at the India Global Forum (IGF) in London last week.

(With PTI inputs)

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