UK-India trade deal faces anti-immigrant challenge as PM Starmer visits
The British prime minister will have to balance India’s push for more visas against the UK’s growing anti-immigrant sentiment, analysts say
Starmer is joined by a 125-member delegation of business leaders and cultural representatives, reflecting his government’s desire to use trade diplomacy as a lever for creating jobs and investment at home. The centrepiece of the trip is the India-UK Free Trade Agreement, signed in July, which both governments have hailed as a launch pad for economic transformation.
“The free-trade agreement will open up markets for each other in critical sectors and double the trade volumes. But more importantly, [it comes] at a time when Mr Trump is creating challenges for India, and for Europe including the UK,” said Harsh Pant, a professor of international relations at King’s College London.