Why so many British Asians voted Conservative and changed the tide of the December 2019 General Election
A week has now passed since the United Kingdom officially left the European Union but for ordinary people, little has changed. Although Monday the 31st of January was marked by wall-to-wall media coverage of the Brexit Party politician’s triumphant jubilation outside the EU headquarters and of remainer’s words of doom and mourning for a dark day in history, for both sides, one thing was clear - there was no certainty that this day would come.
And so the December 2019 general election was dubbed the ‘brexit election’. And while it was shocking that the Conservatives won with such a majority, verifying once again, that yes most British people wanted to “Get Brexit Done”, upon closer inspection, what was more surprising was how many south Asians, historically a strong Labour voter base, changed the tide and voted for Boris Johnson.
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To understand why this happened, it is imperative to first understand the unique place south Asians hold in British society. The vast majority of south Asians living in the UK today, come from ancestors who entered the country either as post-colonial migrants invited by the British government or from Idi Amin’s expulsion of Asians from Uganda in 1972. Despite facing out-right and often systemic racism, they worked hard for decades to define their status in British society. “I have seen the struggles my parents have faced to integrate,” says Mana Tripathi, a young millennial voter who voted Conservative in the December 2019 General Election.
Many feel this comes at the expense of EU migrants who benefit from a supposedly ‘open border policy’. “I feel I have a right to be here because the British came to my country and ruled and enslaved it,” says Zaki Khan, a young millennial who did not vote but is pleased the Conservatives won. “Although I think everyone has a right to be here I also think Britain forgets it’s colonial history and why people are here,” explains Tripathi. One person who wished not to be identified though said, “I lived up north and saw Eastern Europeans not working and living off benefits.” However both Khan and Tripathi agree that “anyone who lives here and contributes to society and thinks they’re British deserves to be here.”
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In particular, says Tripathi, “for our generation now the mindset about integration has changed so climate change and the environment are a lot more important than the fact that you are different to me.” Khan says he would like to believe that most people who come here work hard but “I really liked the Australian points based system idea. If you’re looking at economic progress look at how young Australia is and how good their economy is. If we as such an established country do it we may have a lot of success.” He notes though that “we also have a lot of jobs in this country that we need people to do like doctors and nurses so I hope it’s not too restrictive.”
For a new generation of south Asians, it is also about identity politics. Secure in their knowledge of their cultural and ethnic roots and firm in their identification as British, they no longer want to be painted with the same brush their parents were. And this includes being written off as a Labour vote bank. They identify fiercely as British Asian, a unique sect who speak both English and their mother tongue with flippant ease, celebrate Diwali, Eid and Christmas with equal gusto and are committed to leaving their own stamp on British history by amalgamating the best of both their worlds whether that’s through food, - British high tea served with Asian snacks like samosas instead of cucumber sandwiches - through the arts, - media like Goodness Gracias Me and Bend it like Beckham have left an indelible mark - or through business - the pickle manufacturing behemoth, Patak’s is a staple in all British supermarkets.
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This growth as a community means today’s generation have benefited from their parent’s hard work to be able to start their careers much higher up the ladder while for others it is has been possible to forge a path in fields their parents could only dream of, like the arts. “Because of this,” Tripathi says, the south Asian diaspora is “becoming more politically educated and can influence their parents. Labour in previous years must have had great policies that our ancestors found favourable to them at the time but that’s changed and now may not be so favourable. The world has moved on from a trade union environment and our community has moved on from needing that.”
For young south Asian voters, concern for the future is also a priority and Labour’s refusal to state where they stand on Brexit made them appear unconfident about Britain’s future. Tripati says “I voted to remain in the EU but having since seen how the EU handles discussions and because we are too far gone we need to leave. During the debates, Johnson was quite consistent whereas Corbyn never publicly stated what he supported.” Khan agrees saying “I was happy that the Tories won because they are the only party who can get us past the Brexit deadlock and crack on with other issues. Corbyn didn’t even make his position clear.” He too voted to remain but says he was shocked to see that people wanted another referendum because it “disrespected our democracy”.
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But wanting to leave the EU is the just the first step of the divorce process. There are still innumerable deals to negotiate. This does not phase the young British south Asians who voted Tory however. “I believe in my country’s ability to make deals with other countries,” Khan says. “I think the Tories sorted out the effects of the financial crisis. We had to get through austerity but now the economy is on the rise and there are more jobs out there for the youth - more than there were when I graduated.” Tripathi agrees saying, “It’s better to pump that money back into country, make trade deals fairer and help us build better relationships with countries outside the EU.”
Attachment to their roots mean they hope Brexit will also allow the country to make more trade details with the Commonwealth countries from which their ancestors came from instead of being held back by strict EU laws. For many employed as shopkeepers and small business owners, products catered to British Asian communities is valued above goods traded with the EU. Opening up opportunities for local businesses by trading with Commonwealth markets, was even promised by Tory MP and Brexiteer Priti Patel.
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In fact Priti Patel and the presence of multiple south Asians in high posts in the Tory party such as Sajid Javid, Nusrat Ghani and Rishi Sunak seems to have given the party a massive boost within the community. Boris Johnson, accompanied by Priti Patel even made a campaign speech at one of the UK’s largest Hindu temples, the ISKCON temple in Watford. Although for some this stands in stark contrast to Johnson’s editorial comments, about Muslim women in particular, many others within the community thought otherwise.“Both are equally as racist” Khan, who is Muslim and married to a Muslim woman explains, referring to both Labour and the Conservatives. “Also I’m more worried about anti-Semitism in Labour than a few remarks Johnson has said.”
“As someone who has been following politics for a while I know that things get taken out of context,” Tripathi says. “His comments about Muslim woman affect all south Asian women because we all look the same. So if he can come for them he can come for me. But I went back and actually read his comments. His one statement was a flippant statement but actually if you look at it as a whole in context then it is nothing compared to what Corbyn or the Labour party has said.” Indeed many south Asians have rallied around the Jewish community and found Corbyn’s response lacklustre. The Labour party’s decision to pass an emergency motion at their party conference back in September of last year, on the situation in Kashmir following India’s decision to revoke the special status given to the Indian-administrated Jammu and Kashmir also ignited much anger with the Hindu population in the UK. “I think Corbyn shot himself in the foot because he lost the historical south Asian vote by what he said about India,” Tripathi said.
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In a now-deleted tweet and in the motion passed, Corbyn called it a "major humanitarian crisis" in the "disputed territory" and called for "humanitarian and international observers to enter the region". The motion resulted in 100 British Indian organisations signing a letter to Corbyn saying, the party taking a ‘position on Kashmir as a strictly bilateral matter between India and Pakistan,” has” sown the seeds of community disharmony in the United Kingdom.” Further, it read that it “is not acceptable to us as it seeks to interfere in the internal matters of, and between, third countries and is drafted in a one-sided and divisive manner.” In the letter, the community said they were “also hugely concerned about the wider attempts to bring the Kashmir issue into the domestic politics of the United Kingdom, which has serious ramifications for community harmony.” Tripathi agrees saying, “if you say something about where my family is from it will affect my decision making.”
There is no doubt that since the Brexit vote racial tensions have increased. Which is why for many voters, the December 2019 General Election was the Brexit election and for many voters, like Tripathi’s mum, voting Tory felt like an inherently racist vote; a vote against south Asians. But she says, “it’s naive to think [racial tensions] will not increase. It exists even now but as a community we have come far and broken the misconceptions of us.” This is why for Khan, this Conservative term is make-or-break term: “as Johnson himself said, he’s on borrowed time so if he can’t deliver and do the economy well then they will go.” He thinks the Tory party’s downfall will be Boris Johnson’s personality and if Labour play their cards right and get the right candidate to counter Johnson’s personality, then they will win the next election. “But before then I want to see the 40 new hospitals and the 15,000 new nurses he’s promised,” he says.
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https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1190611/Labour-news-latest-jeremy-corbyn-kashmir-crisis
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/12/kashmir-labour-shifts-policy-after-backlash-by-indian-heritage-voters