Indian Community Says Labour Will Win UK Polls, But Praise Rishi Sunak's Performance

As the voting for snap general elections began on Thursday, the Indian community in the United Kingdom expressed confidence that the Labour Party would end the nearly 15-year stint of the Conservatives.

The Indian-origin UK residents, in a conversation with ANI, also acknowledged that Rishi Sunak has done a good job as Prime Minister, but the party will lose because of the "mess" created by his predecessors.

Polling opened at 7 am (local time) today and will close at 10 pm.

The six-week campaign that saw all major parties comb the nation will end today with the voting to decide the next Prime Minister of the country.

Voters in a total of 650 constituencies across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will cast their votes in the election.

A party needs to win at least 326 out of 650 parliamentary seats and the leader of that party becomes prime minister.

An Indian-origin resident from Gujarat said that, as per expectations, the Labour Party should win because of the instability and poor performance under Conservative rule.He, however, also acknowledged that Labour's 'internal problems' could upset their chances.

"I think if the current political trends are anything to go about and if they continue till the end of the polling day, I think Labour should come back with a resounding victory," a UK resident said.

"What is going to happen is that they (Conservatives) are going to lose. There are some reasons for that as well. There has been a mess...they have changed so many prime ministers and the services are in a mess. The National Health Service (NHS) is in a mess and other things are in a mess. So I personally believe that Labour should come back with a victory," he added.

Expressing support for the incumbent Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, the UK resident said that he is a good PM. He said that the Conservative Party will lose due to problems created by previous leaders, not because of the current Prime Minister's performance.

"He (Rishi Sunak) is a good prime minister. Unfortunately, if the Conservatives lose, which sounds sure, it's not because of him. It's because of the mess that the others made. Because he is a very good Prime Minister, he didn't have enough time as well, because when he came as Prime Minister, there was only a year or something left for the next elections as well. So I would personally love to see him as the Prime Minister," he told ANI.

Another Indian-origin lady also affirmed confidence that the Labour Party will win. She, however, also said that she likes PM Rishi Sunak.

"I am definitely sure if Labour came, it would support us. Rishi Sunak is a nice person. But it's a Labour wave, so Labour will come in. Basically, I support both but definitely Labour is beneficial for us," said Brinda.

Another resident gave a similar prediction, saying the Rishi Sunak-led Conservative Party would end up losing the elections.

"So we're not going to see Rishi Sunak this time? No, definitely not," he said.

On being asked the issues faced by the Indian community, another UK resident said that the people are facing difficulties due to the current immigration rules.

He also said the next government should work on reducing college fees, reducing unemployment.

The Conservative Party, which has been in power in the United Kingdom for around 15 years, faces a mounting task while heading into the general elections under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's leadership, with most polls predicting the return of a Labour government in the country for the first time since 2010.

Polling suggests the vote will result in a Labour majority after more than a decade of Conservative rule under five leaders, including current PM Rishi Sunak and David Cameron, now foreign secretary, as per Al Jazeera.

The status of Britain's public services, the cost of living, taxes, immigration, and the economy will remain major subjects, around which much of the debate during the campaigns have revolved, according to CNN.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)