Starmer’s desperate dash to India: How PM Modi holds all the cards against Britain

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer travels to India on 8-9 October for his first overseas visit there since taking over the office. While it is a good thing that the UK and India can enjoy good relations at an international level, I think that PM Modi must be careful for several reasons that I will now explain.

Starmer, like Trump, wants to be friends with India and Pakistan. I think this is impossible and that it is India where the priority should be afforded. We know that Starmer depends on a large Pakistani voting base in the UK and has several Pakistani MPs in his government. He endlessly panders to UK Muslims, and this causes great distress to many law-abiding Indians living in Britain who worry for their safety. PM Modi may want to remind Starmer that he has an obligation for the well-being of Indian people living in the UK from hostile Pakistanis. I speak to my British-Indian friends on a regular basis, and they fear for their safety in a UK that is increasingly Islamic. Starmer has done almost nothing to reassure these people, and when he appointed a Muslim as Justice Minister, there was great alarm.

On the political side of things, Starmer desperately needs this visit to India to be successful. In truth though, this visit is really a masterstroke of diplomatic prowess from Prime Minister Modi as he continues to propel India onto the global stage. It will cement economic dominance with the landmark India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed during his July visit to London. This deal has been hailed as “game-changing” by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. It is poised to skyrocket bilateral trade to a staggering $120 billion by 2030, unlocking seamless mobility for Indian professionals and dismantling outdated barriers that once hindered India’s export juggernaut.

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With the UK’s economy sputtering under Starmer’s uninspired Labour regime—plagued by inflation, stagnant growth, and a tarnished global image—the British PM is scrambling to latch onto Modi’s coattails. His visit, ostensibly to “deepen strategic ties”, smacks of political opportunism: this is a flailing and failing leader begging for scraps from India’s booming table, hoping to mask his domestic failures with borrowed prestige.

Modi will graciously host this overture, reviewing the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership under the ambitious Vision 2035 roadmap. Discussions will span trade, investment, defence, AI, fintech, and cybersecurity—all realms where Modi’s forward-thinking policies already outshine Starmer’s timid tinkering.

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In Mumbai, Modi and Starmer will meet with business elites and headline the Global Fintech Fest, but make no mistake: it’s Modi’s star power that is driving this agenda. Starmer’s pleas to ease tariffs on British whiskies and cars will likely fall flat against India’s resolve on visas for skilled IT and healthcare workers—priorities Modi champions to fuel India’s youth dividend. In truth, while this is a partnership, Starmer is very much the junior partner, and it is Modi who calls the shots.

There’s another problem here with Starmer that India must also consider. In 2025, UK-China relations have thawed quite a bit. The UK has initiated its first trade talks with Beijing in over seven years, aiming to boost growth through free trade and investment. The revived China-UK Strategic Dialogue earlier this year emphasised mutual prosperity, with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi urging deeper exchanges. For India, this rapprochement may pose threats.

Here’s why:

Economically, intensified UK-China ties could dilute the India-UK FTA, which promises £25.5 billion in trade by 2040, by diverting investments and diluting London’s focus on Indo-Pacific diversification. Diplomatically, a softer UK stance on China weakens collective pressure against Beijing’s border encroachments, where China has weaponised trade by suspending rare earth exports to India. Security-wise, relaxed UK scrutiny on Chinese tech transfers risks bolstering Beijing’s military edge along the LAC, heightening India’s vulnerabilities. Ultimately, the UK’s China tilt could erode New Delhi’s strategic leverage, demanding vigilant multilateral hedging.

There are some further concerns for India. Back in 2022, as Labour leader, Keir Starmer wrote to then Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging a formal request for the release of British Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal from Indian custody. One might remember that Indian authorities accused him of financing the Khalistan Liberation Force, a designated terrorist group, including allegedly delivering £3,000 in Paris in 2013 to fund arms purchases linked to assassinations of Hindu nationalist leaders and a pastor between 2016 and 2017. He faces charges in multiple cases related to these killings and broader “terrorist” activities.

Starmer described Johal’s treatment as “gravely mistreated, with no legal basis”, questioning the absence of official intervention and demanding decisive action. Johal, arrested in Punjab in 2017, has languished without a full trial for nearly eight years, accused of involvement in terrorist activities. By October 2025, human rights advocates, including former detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, pressed Starmer to confront Modi during his impending India visit. They cited breaches of the “double jeopardy” principle under international and Indian law. Starmer had already raised the issue with Modi at a summer 2025 London summit, but advocates insisted that mere discussion falls short of securing Johal’s freedom.

In July this year, the Starmer government announced a new foreign policy initiative naming India among 10 countries for close monitoring of religious freedom violations. The policy, led by Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief David Smith, supposedly aims to promote religious freedom globally and advocate for persecuted minorities. The move comes amid broader UK efforts to integrate human rights into foreign relations, with Smith tasked to address such violations diplomatically. I think it is ironic that Starmer dares to name India as a violator of human rights when his regime in the UK has done little to protect the human rights of young British girls from predatory Pakistani rape gangs.

India and the UK should stand with each other in this troubled world, but I believe that Starmer is using this visit as a distraction from his own failing premiership. Modi should be cautious and remember that India is in control, not Britain.

David Vance is a political commentator and author. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.