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Starmer’s victory wave could change Britain

Keir Starmer’s new world is a government that values public service and puts country before party as opposed to Conservatives with their partygate scandals … writes Mihir Bose

Keir Starmer’s election victory has echoes of Indian elections and of football. Election victories in India, particularly if they are gigantic, are described as waves. So, in 1971 when Mrs Indira Gandhi won her great election victory, just months before India’s Bangladesh war liberated the country and stopped the dreadful Pakistan army genocide of the Bengalis, it was described as the Indira wave.

But in 1977 when she was removed from power after the Emergency, it was called the Janata wave, the Janata party being an Indian liquorice all sorts political bag which had finally combined in an anti- Indira coalition to get rid of her. The fact that the word Janata also means people in Hindi gave it a certain feel of people coming together to remove this wicked witch. She had imposed the emergency when for the only time India was a dictatorship since it won its freedom from Britain.

In recent years Indian elections have seen the Narendra Modi wave. In the election that has just taken place Modi was forecasting not so much a wave as a tsunami but the tectonic plates did not quite move so dramatically and the final election result far from being a tsunami can hardly be called even a Modi wave, certainly not on the scale of the two previous elections.

rime Minister Keir Starmer hosts his first Cabinet at 10 Downing Street. Picture by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street

I mention all this because looking at the British election results, and given the scale of the Labour Party victory, it would be tempting to call this the Keir Starmer wave. Labour is not used to winning elections. Keir Starmer is only the 7th Labour Prime Minister, and this is only the 6th election where it has won a comfortable majority. Tony Blair was very proud of the fact that he won three successive elections something no Labour Prime Minister had done not even the great Clement Attlee, possibly Labour’s greatest Prime Minister.

Historically, Labour win British elections in very exceptional circumstances. In 1945 its greatest ever victory came after the war. The victory of Atlee, the little man who everybody had dismissed, and who Winston Churchill had mocked, “Mr Attlee is a very modest man. He has much to be modest about”, was totally unexpected. The nation decided that Churchill winning the war did not mean he could run the country after the war was over. The British public wanted a new world and the modest man was best equipped to deliver it. In 1964 Harold Wilson came to power following the scandals of the Harold Macmillan era in particular the Profumo scandal. And in 1997 Tony Blair capitalised on the economic  problems of John Major’s government .

In some ways Starmer has borrowed from all these winning Labour leaders. Just as Atlee promised a new world so does Starmer. Attlee promised and delivered on providing a national service health service and bringing in a great many industries into public ownership. Starmer’s new world is a government that values public service and puts country before party as opposed to Conservatives with their partygate scandals. As he put it from the podium of No 10 Downing Street in his first speech as Prime Minister, “public service is a privilege and that your government should treat very single person in this country with respect.” Wilson had made much of thirteen wasted Tory years. Starmer has never stopped reminding people of fourteen years of Conservative chaos. And while Blair spoke of Britain being a new country, Starmer promises to renew this country and make it a shiny new place. What Attlee, Wilson or Blair could not do was make Labour the natural part of government in Britain. Wilson at one stage had said Labour was the natural party of government but he was proved wrong when he unexpectedly lost the 1970 election. Should Starmer rebuild this country and make people believe it can trust politicians he could indeed make Labour the natural party of government. But that will be a big task.

However, Starmer has shown he can defy expectations. He took over a party that seemed destined for permanent opposition. In the 2019 election Labour had  its worst ever result since 1935. Boris Johnson, the victor, had also destroyed the red wall seats and annexed electoral land which had historically been Labour. There seemed no way back, at least not for decades. Starmer who was deputy leader in 2019 when Labour was led by Jeremy Corbyn had signed up to all his left-wing agenda.

Then Prime Minister Boris Johnson accompanied by Sir Keir Starmer at Belfairs Methodist Church, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

Then when he stood to became leader in his own right he promised to safeguard the Corbyn legacy. During this campaign when asked about it he said had not expected to win the 2019 election which revealed that beneath that look of an unfeeling bureaucrat lurks quite a shrewd politician. The real Starmer emerged when after his election as leader he decided that to win Labour had to move to the centre. It was on this change platform that he campaigned and won and kept saying Labour has changed. He also referred to how Labour had changed in that first  address to the British public from outside No 10 Downing Street just after he had shaken hands with the King and become Prime Minister.

The fact that Starmer has to say Labour has changed highlights the problem a Labour leader always faces when it is fighting a general election. In 1997  Tony Blair made much of the fact that he was leading New Labour which was not remotely the Labour of Michael Foot or even Neil Kinnock, two of his predecessors who had led the party to defeat. Just to prove this he had also removed Clause Four from the Labour constitution which had enshrined a socialist control of the economy to prove that Labour had moved to the centre. The fact that in order to win Starmer, more than a quarter of century later, also had to say the party has changed shows how to win elections in this country, which is broadly centre right, a left-wing party has to prove it is not too left wing.

However, what is interesting is that Starmer and his team have been very careful to emphasise that this endless repeating of the word change is not remotely like Blair’s talk of New Labour. This was dramatically revealed to me when I asked Rachel Reeves, who has now become the first woman Chancellor of the Exchequer, as to whether Starmer’s party was not really New Labour. She bristled and denied it. This is because despite Blair’s historic three victories, which no Labour leader has ever managed, New Labour is not a slogan Labour activists much cared for. It reflects the fact that the party faithful never really fell in love with Blair’s New Labour label and are often more comfortable being a party that campaigns for change rather than wanting to bring about change. And this is where Starmer is different. He gives every indication he wants to change things not just shout slogans about the changes necessary and not bother about making the changes.

Starmer ability to make changes may be helped by the fact that his arrival at No 10 has been facilitated by the fact that Conservatives far from showing they are a natural governing party have been behaving in the way Labour has often behaved, as a great squabbling party, if anything even worse than Labour has been. Labour in power has always squabbled with the  left feeling that the party is too right-wing and a pale shadow of the Conservatives. Labour election victories have been followed by internal party splits driven by ideological differences although with the Blair government it was personal rivalry between Blair and Gordon Brown who grew increasingly angry that Blair would not vacate No 10 and allow Brown to become Prime Minister. However, all this has been dwarfed by the scale of the Conservative infighting that we have seen with five prime ministers since 2010.Conservatives had a reputation for knowing how to win power and maintain power. The last 14 years has completely ruined that reputation.

To make matters worse for the Conservatives they now have to their right the Reform Party which could seriously challenge their position as the historic right-wing party of this country. Watching the results in the early hours of Friday morning what was striking was how, as Labour held seats in the north, seats it would be expected to hold with its own votes going up very slowly if at all, it was the Reform party which got votes from the Conservatives and came second. Reform may have only five MPs but in many seats it has more votes than the Conservatives. The hard right party won 14 % of the vote, more than 4m votes in total, and came second in more than 100 seats. In the next election the main opposition for Labour in many constituencies will be not the Conservative party but the Reform Party.

What is worse for the Conservatives is that is has become like the Labour party. Labour’s left has always claimed that it is not left-wing enough. With Reform threatening from the right many in the  Conservative party say the party is not right-wing enough and needs to move more to the right if it is to regain power. That the British public want a genuine right-wing party just as the Labour left has always said the British public want a genuine left-wing party. The Labour party activists are to the left of their MPs. The Conservative party members are to the right of their MPs which means a permanent internal war in both parties.

Starmer during the campaign produced no grand idea. His campaign hardly lit up the country. In fact, at times listening to him one felt you had to prod him to get a word out, certainly to get him to say something different. His campaign had a feel of a recital from a book he had been told to memorise and stick to very carefully. He has won with a lower share of vote than Labour got under Corbyn in 2015 winning 63 % of the seats with 34% of the vote. The reason for this is that the Labour party machine has worked out how to capitalise its vote. There is no point in getting a lot of votes in seats that Labour would win anyway. Much rather  target the seats which Labour are not expected to win so that it could win those seats and this it has done very efficiently.

Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria arrive at Number 10 Downing Street upon his appointment. Picture by Rory Arnold/ No 10 Downing Street

He has to use the football term won “ugly.” This is when a football team wins a match but produces no spectacular moment. There is no magical football that can fascinate us, but it scores one decisive goal which is hardly memorable but good enough to win the match. In that sense it is very much how Starmer’s beloved Arsenal used to historically play, dour, unwatchable, making sure the opposition did not score, and then winning with a goal that was very drab which not even the supporters would recall with much pride. That changed when Arsene Wenger took over as manager and Arsenal did play delightful football and won. We shall have to see if Starmer in government does a Wenger.

What matters is to see is how deep Starner’s change of the Labour party has gone. Is it so deep that the party is happy with having power even if it does not make the fundamental changes many in the party have always campaigned for. The Labour victory is shallow in terms of its vote share, only 34%, its governance of the country in terms of the changes it makes could also be very shallow. However, if the change Starmer keeps talking about has also meant a fundamental change in the Labour mind-set, that the party activists accept that being in power does not mean you can bring radical change, then Starmer will have fundamentally changed the Labour party and we could see Labour becoming the natural governing party of this country.

(Mihir Bose is the author of Thank You Mr Crombie, Lessons in Guilt and Gratitude to the British. Published by Hurst.)

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A Labour MP from Kerala

Sojan Joseph is currently a borough councillor representing Aylesford and East Stour ward…reports Asian Lite News

Lights at the home of Sojan Joseph in the sleepy village at Athirampuzha near Kottayam were not switched off on Thursday night as the entire household was anxiously waiting to hear the result from Ashford, one of the constituencies in Kent in the United Kingdom.

Sojan Joseph’s father burst into tears and clapped his hands when his son, the Labour Party’s candidate, won with a margin of 1,779 votes defeating Damien Green of the Conservative and Unionist party.

“Of course , I am really happy and excited with my son’s victory . We have been waiting to hear this right from the time my son told me he is going to contest the polls,” said his beaming father.

The house was full of Joseph’s relatives and friends and soon came the sounds of crackers being burst.

His brother’s wife said that Joseph and his six siblings and their children are all in the UK.

“He is a nurse in the psychiatry department of the National Health Service. After he finished college in Kottayam, he went to study nursing in Bengaluru. Now for the past 23 years he is working in the NHS. We were expecting that he will win,” said his sister – in –law.

A sister of Joseph said while he was in college here he was never into politics.

“ It was after he reached the UK, that he developed an interest in politics and now his and our dream has come true. Now we are just waiting for him to come to his village,” said the sister.

Joseph is currently a borough councillor representing Aylesford and East Stour ward.

ALSO READ: How Keir Starmer Revived Labour Party

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Labour Party Set to End 14-Year Conservative Rule in UK Polls

In 1997, former Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Tony Blair won 418 seats which ended 18 years of Conservative rule…reports Asian Lite News

The Labour Party is expected to form the new government in the UK after 14 years of Conservative rule as the country goes to polls on Thursday.

As per the British media reports, most of the poll predictions have projected over 400 seats for the Labour Party.

In 1997, former Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Tony Blair won 418 seats which ended 18 years of Conservative rule.

The UK operates under a first-past-the-post electoral system where voters elect representatives in 650 constituencies. Any party has to win at least 326 seats to form the government in the UK while its leader will become the Prime Minister.

If any party fails to get a majority, the incumbent Prime Minister gets the first opportunity to form a coalition government.

Labour Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, Scottish National Party (SNP), and the Green Party are some of the major political parties on the country’s political landscape.

ALSO READ-Starmer Pledges ‘Country Before Party’ in UK Polls

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Labour Party Poised for Major Victory in UK Polls

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are in a close race to form the official opposition…reports Asian Lite News

UK’s Labour Party is set to win the 2024 general election on Thursday grabbing 484 out of a total 650 seats in the Parliament, a pre-poll company Survation projected.

According to the survey, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is projected to win a historic mandate against UK Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak.

The Conservatives, which have been in power for past for last 14 years, are projected to win 64 seats while the Democrats are likely to bag 61 seats.

In 1997, the Labour Party, under Tony Blair’s leadership, had won 418 seats.

The Reform Party, as per the research company, is projected to win seven seats.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are in a close race to form the official opposition.

“The Labour Party is set to displace the Scottish National Party (SNP) as the largest party in Scotland,” it said.

The company mentioned that survey projections are based on Multilevel Regression and Post-stratification (MRP) model which uses data from over 30,000 respondents to make seat-level forecasts.

Despite having time till January 25 to hold the elections, PM Rishi Sunak on May 22 announced that the UK will go to polls on July 4.

ALSO READ-Big majority better for the country, claims Starmer  

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Labour on track for landslide

The Labour Party is on course to win more than 450 seats and the biggest majority of any post-war government predicts poll, reports Asian Lite News

The Labour Party is on course for a 256-seat majority at the general election while the Tories are heading for their worst-ever defeat, according to a new poll.

In its first MRP model of the 2024 campaign, Ipsos estimated Sir Keir Starmer’s party could win 453 seats and the Conservatives 115.

If correct, that would hand Labour a historic majority of 256, the biggest of any post-war government, while plunging the number of Tory MPs to record lows.

It would also mean senior Conservative figures such as Grant Shapps, Penny Mordaunt, Gillian Keegan, Johnny Mercer and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg losing their seats.

While Labour have consistently enjoyed a 20-point lead in the polls, the Ipsos survey is the highest projection yet of what their majority could look like.

The poll also predicts the Lib Dems could win 38 seats, the Scottish National Party 15, three for the Green Party and three for Reform UK.

According to the projection, Nigel Farage is on track to overturn a huge Tory majority to win in Clacton while former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, standing as an independent, is predicted to lose to his old party in Islington North.

The poll is likely to cement fears within the Conservative party of an extinction-level event.

Despite promises of further tax cuts in his manifesto, Rishi Sunak has failed to shift the dial in a campaign marred by political gaffes – notably his early exit from a D-day event.

Repeated forecasts of a Labour landslide have prompted gloom from some Tories, with the prime minister forced to insist on Monday that his party could still win the election after Mr Shapps, the Defence Secretary, conceded that defeat was likely.

In recent days, senior figures have taken to warning voters about the risk of a Labour “supermajority” in a bid to convince undecided voters to stick with them.

The Ipsos projection predicts a huge majority for Labour even when factoring in more than 100 seats which are “too close to call”.

The model finds 117 seats are on a knife edge as they have a winning margin of less than five percentage points. This underlines the extent to which the number of undecided voters could change the outcome for the Tories.

Kelly Beaver, chief executive of Ipsos UK and Ireland said: “Labour is increasing its 2019 vote share across the country, especially in Scotland and the North East, while the Conservatives are losing votes in all regions – especially in the East and South of England, and across the Midlands.

“What is perhaps most concerning for them are signs in the data that they are particularly losing vote share in the areas where they were strongest in 2019.”

The poll used the multilevel with poststratification (MRP) technique to model individual constituency results based on a survey of 19,689 British adults and took place between 7-12 June.

It is the second poll released this week to use the technique, following a Survation poll on Monday that estimated a similarly massive Labour majority.

The Ipsos poll is the first MRP survey to be conducted entirely after Mr Farage announced he would be taking over as leader of Reform UK and making his eighth attempt to become an MP, this time in Clacton, Essex.

The poll suggests Farage is on course to win that seat, with his Reform UK party also picking up Lee Anderson’s Ashfield constituency and possibly one other seat with 12% of the national vote.

That puts the party level in terms of seats with the Greens, who Ipsos suggests could win in Bristol Central, North Herefordshire and Waveney Valley while losing their current seat in Brighton Pavilion to Labour.

The poll also sees the Liberal Democrats making gains in the South East and South West, increasing its number of seats to 38 and regaining its position as the third party in the Commons.

Meanwhile, Ipsos said the fate of the SNP was “still very much up in the air”, with the party running a close second to Labour in Scotland and expected to win around 15 seats, a significant reduction from the 48 seats it won in 2019.

Beaver said the poll was “just a snapshot of people’s current voting intentions” and there was “still time for things to change”.

She added: “But this data, in line with most of the evidence that we have seen both in the run-up to this election and since the campaign started, in terms of the mood of the nation and real election results in local elections and by-elections, suggests that the British political scene could be heading for yet another significant shift.”

ALSO READ: Sunak gives very personal speech at London temple

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Labour’s new push for support from British Indian voters

Nearly two-thirds of British Indians supported Labour for years

From organising trips to India to hiring community volunteers, the UK’s main opposition Labour Party has announced a series of measures to win back the support of the British Indian community, which has been on the wane in recent years.

Nearly two-thirds of British Indians, who form the second-largest immigrant group in the UK, and the largest minority-ethnic group, supported Labour for years, The Guardian reported.

But the numbers fell sharply with a UK-based think-tank showing that in 2019 only 30 per cent voted for the Keir Starmer-led party, in stark contrast to 61 per cent in 2010.

“We’ve taken Indian voters for granted for years, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious they are going elsewhere and we need to do something about that,” a party official told the paper.

To re-engage with the community, the party has rolled out new initiatives, which include hiring community outreach volunteers, revamping the Labour Friends of India group, and organising a trip to India for two of its senior shadow ministers.

“As a canvassing umbrella initiative focused on event organisation and social media dissemination, we’re looking to serve the widest group of stakeholders to ensure a Labour victory,” Krish Raval, the group’s chair, told The Guardian.

Labour Friends of India celebrates Diwali

The group has hired two volunteers to brief Labour parliamentary candidates on issues of importance to India, and on Sunday, shadow ministers David Lammy and Jonathan Reynolds will travel to Delhi and Mumbai on a five-day trip.

In November last year, Sir Keir Starmer joined top members of the British Indian community, including Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami, to celebrate Diwali where he expressed his gratitude to the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain communities in the UK.

In June 2023, he emphasised the importance of “modern India” and said that “a strategic partnership with India will be key” to a future Labour government.

Citing experts, The Guardian said that a shift in the British Indian stance has come about partly for socioeconomic reasons and partly for religious ones.

As they have become richer in recent years, survey data shows their attitudes have become more conservative.

In addition, the party had an uncomfortable relationship with India after the party, under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, unanimously passed a motion on Kashmir at the 2019 Labour conference.

In 2019, BJP activists actively campaigned for the Conservatives in more than 40 seats across the UK, and now with Rishi Sunak as Britain’s first Hindu Prime Minister, the sailing is likely to be rough for the opposition.

ALSO READ: ‘Labour Is Now The Party Of Business’

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Indian-origin barrister appointed to Australian Senate

Varun Ghosh will take his position in the Australian Senate next week with the Labour Party

 Indian-origin barrister Varun Ghosh will take his position in the Australian Senate next week with the Labour Party officially confirming him as their pick to represent Western Australia (WA).

A joint sitting of WA Parliament on Thursday selected the 38-year-old Ghosh, a barrister at Francis Burt Chambers, to replace present senator Patrick Dodson.

“The Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council have chosen Senator Varun Ghosh to represent Western Australia in the Senate of the Federal Parliament,” the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia announced on X.

Ghosh joined the Labor party in Perth at the age of 17 after his parents moved from India in the 1980s and began working as neurologists, news website WAToday reported.

He said his preselection was an honour he won’t take for granted. “I have had the privilege of a good education and believe strongly that high-quality education and training should be available to everyone,” he said in a statement.

“Varun has spent the last few years working as a barrister with both WA business & on the international stage with the World Bank. I look forward to working with him as part of our

@walabor Senate team in CBR (Canberra),” Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Matt Keogh, wrote on X platform.

At the 2019 federal election, Ghosh was placed in fifth position on the Australian Labour Party’s Senate ticket in Western Australia but was not elected.

He received degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Western Australia and was a Commonwealth Scholar in Law at the University of Cambridge.

He previously worked as a finance attorney in New York and as a consultant for the World Bank in Washington, DC.

Ghosh returned to Australia in 2015 as a senior associate with King & Wood Mallesons, representing banks, resource companies, and construction companies in dispute resolution.

ALSO READ: Labour’s new push for support from British Indian voters

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Christopher Luxon Sworn In as New Zealand’s 42nd Prime Minister

Labor Party leader Chris Hipkins officially resigned as prime minister to the governor-general on Monday…reports Asian Lite News

Christopher Luxon officially became New Zealand’s new Prime Minister, as his cabinet was officially sworn in on Monday.

Luxon, New Zealand’s 42nd prime minister, confirmed to Governor-General Cindy Kiro he had the confidence to form a government in an elaborate ceremony with Maori karakia and the national anthem, reports Xinhua news agency.

A total of 20 cabinet ministers, eight ministers outside the cabinet, and two parliamentary under-secretaries were also formally appointed.

“We now have a responsibility to deliver for New Zealanders, to give them clear, demonstrable and measurable improvements in the quality of their lives,” Luxon told the ministers.

Labor Party leader Chris Hipkins officially resigned as prime minister to the governor-general on Monday.

The National Party, ACT New Zealand party and New Zealand First party announced the lineup for the new coalition government on November 24 in parliament after weeks of negotiations.

New Zealand First’s leader Winston Peters will be deputy prime minister for the first half of the three-year parliamentary term, and ACT’s leader David Seymour will be deputy prime minister for the second half of the term.

Peters will be the foreign minister and Seymour will be the minister for regulation assessing the quality of new and existing regulations.

The 20-strong cabinet will have 14 National ministers, three ACT ministers and three NZ First ministers.

National’s Nicola Willis will be the finance minister.

The new prime minister said the government will ease the cost of living and deliver tax relief, restore law and order, and deliver better public services.

The National Party won the general election on October 14, with the Labor Party to step down after six years in office.

However, with no party winning a majority of seats, the formation of a new government depended on the outcome of interparty negotiations to form a coalition government.

New Zealand uses the Mixed Member Proportional voting system to elect its parliament.

Under this system, the government is usually formed by two or more parliamentary political parties.

ALSO READ-New Coalition Government Unveiled in New Zealand

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Labour Party can promote two-state solution, says pro-Israel group

Michael Rubin, director of Labour Friends of Israel, said the Netanyahu government’s actions “imperil both democratic norms and the rule of law.”…reports Asian Lite News

A Labour government can promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and end the building of illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories, a pamphlet from the party’s largest pro-Israel group has said.

Labour Friends of Israel described the UK’s main opposition party as “freed of the stain of antisemitism” and capable of confronting democratic backsliding in both Israel and within the Palestinian Authority, The Guardian reported on Thursday.

The pamphlet aims to end years of debate in the party over the conflict and promote a unified response in preparation for a potential Labour government.

“Free of the stain of antisemitism and anti-Zionism,” the party can confront Israeli Prime Minister “Benjamin Netanyahu’s self-serving efforts to emasculate the independence of the judiciary,” the pamphlet says.

It describes his “repellent actions and rhetoric of his far-right allies” as going beyond “routine policy disagreements.”

Michael Rubin, director of Labour Friends of Israel, said the Netanyahu government’s actions “imperil both democratic norms and the rule of law.”

Labour, if it wins the next general election, must immediately restore the position of Middle East minister, a post that was abolished by the ruling Conservative Party, which has shown a “stunning disinterest” in the region, the pamphlet says.

A key strategy for Britain’s foreign policy under Labour must be to promote a freeze on settlement-building, it adds, saying the move will “narrow the parameters of the conflict and foster confidence.”

Renewed investment in the PA must also take place, with a potential British-led international fund offering a path to peace through economic incentives and anti-corruption drives. Though the UK would lack the clout to resolve the conflict alone, it could work with Europe and the US, the pamphlet says.

However, Toby Greene, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics, said it would be difficult to maintain a unified front within the Labour Party due to “the extremism of the current Israeli government, the diplomatic vacuum, and the propensity for violent escalations.”

Labour this week was also accused of censorship after it requested the Palestine Solidarity Campaign to remove the phrase “end apartheid” from its side event at the party’s annual conference next week. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign urged the party to “confront the reality of Israel’s practice of the crime of apartheid rather than avoid naming it.”

Major NGOs and rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem have all warned that Israel is practicing apartheid. Labour leader Keir Starmer, when asked to justify the move, described the use of the phrase as “detrimental.”

PSC warned that instead of holding Israel to account “for its serial violations,” the Labour leadership is “seeking to avoid engaging with the reality lived by Palestinians for decades.”

Ben Jamal, PSC director, said: “You cannot tackle an injustice unless you are prepared to name it. As B’Tselem, Israel’s leading human rights monitoring body, said in their report affirming Israel’s practice of apartheid, ‘As painful as it may be to look reality in the eye, it is more painful to live under a boot’.”

ALSO READ-Labour will re-write Brexit deal, says Starmer  

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Labour Party’s Indian Mother- Son duo become councillors in London

Councillors Parveen Rani and her son Tushar Kumar are in the political limelight since they won, reports Rahul Laud

Indian-origin parents are inspired and London’s mother-son duo carved a niche in history when they both won in their debut contest at recent Council elections. Mother Parveen Rani and 20-year-old son Tushar Kumar bagged seats as Labour Party members breaking traditional Conservatives strongholds from Hertsmere Borough Council, in Hertfordshire and Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council, (in Hertfordshire) respectively. Tushar made history at the election by helping the Labour group take overall control of the town council for the first time this century. Both Tushar and Parveen were standing in elections for the first time.

 With her win, Parveen Rani Marks new chapter as Kenilworth, Borehamwood Borough Councillor and Cabinet Member. Borehamwood, UK local elections have marked an exciting turn of events for the residents of Kenilworth, Borehamwood. Rani is known for her versatile roles as an entrepreneur, educationist, and social activist, and is all set to bring “a fresh perspective to the Hertsmere borough council,” she said.

Alongside her new role as a councillor, Rani has been appointed as a cabinet member responsible for the portfolio of ‘Street Scene, Parks, Leisure, and Culture.’ She is poised to leverage her diverse skills and experience to enhance the local community’s quality of life in this area.

Rani has previously held the role of governor at several UK schools, guiding them with her educational acumen and keen insight. Further establishing her dedication to education and culture, Rani founded the charity organisation ‘Hindi Shiksha Parishad UK’ where her son Tushar teaches pro bono. This organisation champions the cause of Indian culture by celebrating Indian festivals and offering free Hindi classes to children. Through this initiative, she has played a pivotal role in promoting and preserving the Hindi language in the UK.

Recognising her extraordinary contributions to social activities and her tireless efforts to promote Hindi globally, the Governor and Chief Minister of Haryana, India, have previously honoured Rani. High Commission of India, London has also acknowledged her work, recently bestowing upon her an award for her outstanding role in promoting Hindi across the UK.

Tushar Kumar, Rani’s son has become the youngest Indian-origin councillor in the United Kingdom. As a town councillor, Tushar will be expected to attend regular council meetings, vote on local planning issues and help residents with constituency enquiries.

He moved to London at the age of 10. Passionate about politics and community work from a young age, Tushar is a student of politics at the prestigious King’s College London. He is engaged in an internship at a charitable organisation dedicated to the well-being of senior citizens. Additionally, he volunteers his time to teach Hindi at Hindi Shiksha Parishad UK.

Tushar has been selected for a prestigious summer internship with the Civil Service Fast Stream programme. He actively participates in various extracurricular activities, including fundraising initiatives for the homeless and involvement with charitable organisations. Tushar’s victory in the local elections marks a significant shift in the political landscape of the United Kingdom. It reflects the nation’s changing demographic and highlights the importance of younger voices in politics.

Tushar was also determined to stand in the election to help inspire young people to engage more with politics.

He said: “I have been involved in politics since a young age and I see that young people like me aren’t involved, there’s not a lot of trust, so I wanted to represent the younger generation and show them that things can be different.

“I wanted to bring about some change and show that young people can do so too. I want to deliver on the promises that I have made and change some perceptions.”