UK's July general election: Impact on India FTA, Indo-Pacific tilt
UK general election gathers momentum after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised many this week with a snap summer poll on July 4, exactly a month after India's election results on June 4, the prospect of an India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) has been kicked into the long grass. While political analysts and strategic experts have expressed confidence that very little should change on the bilateral relationship front whatever the outcome in either election, the very small window that was open for a deal being clinched by the Sunak-led Tory government has now been swept away in the election wave of both countries.
The Opposition Labour Party, in the lead in most pre-election surveys, has committed itself to «finish the job» but the timelines will remain uncertain for some time.
«Rishi Sunak's shock poll date announcement of July 4 has skewered any prospect of the finalisation of the long-awaited and much-anticipated FTA with India by a Conservative government,» said Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow for South and Central Asian Defence, Strategy and Diplomacy at the London-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
«The Labour Party, widely expected to form the next government in the UK, has maintained steadfast support for such a deal, subject to an examination of the 'fine print' once it comes into office. The prospect for such a trade deal appears positive, providing an early boost to relations between the two new
