Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been blasted for giving Indian workers a “leg up” over Britons after agreeing a multi-billion pound trade deal with India.
The agreement marks the biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade deal the UK has secured since leaving the EU – expected to increase bilateral trade by £25.5billion.
Hailing the deal, Starmer said: “Today we have agreed a landmark deal with India – one of the fastest growing economies in the world, which will grow the economy and deliver for British people and business.”
“Strengthening our alliances and reducing trade barriers with economies around the world is part of our Plan for Change to deliver a stronger and more secure economy here at home.”
Discussing the deal on GB News, Shadow Trade Secretary Andrew Griffiths claimed that the Labour Government are “completely wrong” in their claim that the deal is a “standard tax agreement we already have with 50 other countries”.
Griffiths stated: “They are wrong about that, just as the Prime Minister, I’m afraid, is wrong about so very much, particularly when it comes to the economy where he’s done great damage.
“Of course, we support free trade, this is a wonderful country – but let me be also clear with your viewers, this is not a deal we would have done.”
Noting the details of the agreement, Griffiths warned that the deal means it will be “easier” for Indians to move to Britain and will give them a “leg up” over British workers.
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Griffiths explained: “The compromise that this Government has eaten, and the truth is in the description on the Indian side of this deal, that it will make it easier for Indians to come here, and in particular it will give them a great leg up versus British workers.
“At the same time the Government’s been pushing up National Insurance, the big Labour jobs tax, £25billion extra cost on British firms, they’re cutting the very same tax on Indian workers employed by Indian firms coming over here.”
Admitting that the deal does harbour some “good components”, Griffiths made clear that the deal is a “Brexit benefit” – something Labour voted against “48 times”.
Griffiths said: “It does actually open up a little bit the visa rules that Indians can apply for, and it doesn’t affect those that are applying for British jobs. But look let’s look at the big picture.
“Yes, this deal has some good components – it is a Brexit benefit from a Labour Party that voted 48 times to overturn Brexit. If they’d got their way, there would be no way that British firms could get better access to Indian markets – one of the fastest growing economies in the world, growing much faster than the European Union.”
In a final criticism of the deal, Griffiths told GB News that the agreement is “not symmetrical” compared to other deals with world nations, as there is a “vanishingly small number” of Britons travelling to India.
Griffiths concluded: “Unlike some of the other deals like in Canada or Korea, there’s a vanishingly small number of British workers that go to India. So it’s just not symmetrical.
“The truth is, and you can see this in the fact that the UK Government didn’t talk about this aspect of the deal at all, not in their press release, not in Parliament – in India, they hailed this as a great win. Once again, when Labour negotiates, Britain is the country that loses.”
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