Labour facing more Indian anger as UK general election looms

LONDON: Labour Party’s traditional support within the 1.5 million strong Indian community in the UK may dwindle after it faced serious questions from within the party over candidate selection and continuing anger outside over its stand on Kashmir.

The last 24 hours saw a barrage of criticism from Labour members in Leicester, where the party nominated Claudia Webbe in Leicester East for the December 12 general election.

In London, the Labour Friends of India, a prominent lobby group within the party, said, “We express regret that the Labour Party has selected just one candidate of Indian heritage in 39 safe seats and no Indian heritage candidate in 100 target seats.”

Labour has been grappling with protests from large sections of the community over its recent resolution on Kashmir, which is widely seen as anti-India.