The Indian diaspora is young, fast-growing and well-educated – and our new research shows its political allegiance is changing
In the aftermath of Keir Starmer’s first proper conference speech as Labour leader, questions about the party’s resurrection continue to swirl. Nationwide polls on Westminster voting intentions show Labour closing a yawning gap with the Tories, but it’s unclear whether this is indicative of a structural shift in political preferences or simply the result of a scandal-driven news cycle fuelling negative sentiment towards the government.
While doubts persist as to whether Starmer has done enough to reconnect with the party’s erstwhile white, working-class base, the party’s troubles extend beyond estrangement from this critical demographic. A mounting body of anecdotal evidence suggests that British Indians – who, along with most other ethnic minorities, have long been core Labour voters – are defecting in sizeable numbers.
This article was co-written by Devesh Kapur, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Caroline Duckworth and Milan Vaishnav, who work at the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
