I was in the gents' toilet earlier today at the Washington Hotel in London’s swish Mayfair district. “Who would have thought it? I cannot have imagined this 10 years ago,” said the London-based correspondent of PTI – the Press Trust of India. We were sharing a toilet conversation about the past hour in which we had witnessed some of the great and good in British politics talk about the importance of the UK / India relationship.
The lunch was arranged for the Labour Friends of India by Saffron Chase, a PR and lobbying firm run by a friend of mine, Vikas Pota. Vikas is one of those movers and shakers in political society who knows everyone worth knowing. As I entered the room, Vikas wandered over and grabbed my arm; he guided me over to have a chat with the guy running one of the biggest hedge funds in London.
The MP for Ealing North, Steve Pound, who chairs the Labour Friends of India, gave a talk about the British relationship with India. He introduced the Prime Minister, who had been delayed trying to get through the crowded bar area of the hotel, much to the amusement of the guests – at least one peer was heard to mutter that this was not the first time the PM was delayed in the bar, though I’m sure it was in mirth and not in the literal sense of a Liberal Democrat leader.
The Mayor for London, Ken Livingstone, followed with a speech that included the sentiments that he could never disagree with anything the Prime Minister said. I bet Tony Blair wished for that kind of compliance back in the day.
Lord Kinnock, Chairman of the British Council and former leader of the Labour Party, was being presented with the Fenner Brockway medal for promoting better relations between the UK and India. He then made a rambling, but interesting speech. The hosts were getting worried as Kinnock was going on a bit. It was interesting to most of us, but clearly some people like the PM and Mayor had to get moving. Steve Pound attempted to sneak up alongside Kinnock to tell him to hurry up. Kinnock immediately said that he knew he was running over and that he would finish soon. He then added that he was always careful when people approached from the side in case he would get stabbed in the back. He recalled a 1985 speech at the Labour Party Conference where Eric Heffer had tried approaching while Kinnock was speaking.
It may have been somewhat hagiographic because of the Indian audience, but the off the record view of many politicians is that India is a great friend and worth developing. A lot of those in power fear talking on the record about their concerns for China, and so the emphatic support for India can be taken as a vicarious way of saying that they will support a large democratic state over a large dictatorship any day – but the economics of the matter prevents them saying it openly…
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