Chancellor Gordon Brown will clearly rely on his 'Labour Friends of India' in his bid to become the next Leader of the Labour party and perhaps the next British Prime Minister. On Tuesday 26th September, he met with senior policy makers, Indian "captains of industry" and Asian leaders in civic society at a reception organised by Labour Friends of India, during the annual Labour Party Conference in Manchester. Last year, Prime Minister Tony Blair told the gathering "we need to do more, frankly, to improve the involvement and representation of your community, indeed all ethnic minority communities in politics and public life"in the UK.

Gordon Brown said "I value my contacts with India and want to convey my thanks to Labour Friends of India for the constructive and positive role it plays in Parliament. I am looking forward to visiting India in the next few weeks with a view of understanding how our two countries can work even more closely than they already are."

The Chancellor added, "Our connections with India as a Party go back many years and our relations are deep and so profound. I thank the team associated with Labour Friends of India for ensuring this continuity. Please keep working for the great relations between our two countries."

50 British Parliamentarians attended the annual conference reception:

The Rt. Hon. Mr Jack Straw MP - Leader of the House of Commons
The Rt. Hon. Ms Hazel Blears MP - Party Chair
The Rt. Hon. Ms Tessa Jowell MP - Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport
The Rt. Hon. Mr Stephen Timms MP - Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Mr Tony McNulty MP - Minister for Policing, Security & Community Safety
Ms Margaret Hodge MP - Minister for Industry & The Regions
Mr Parmjit Dhanda MP - Minister for Children, Young People & Families
Mr Barry Gardiner MP - Minister for Biodiversity
Mr Ed Balls MP - Economic Secretary to the Treasury
Lord Warner - Minister for NHS Reform
Lord Davidson - Advocate General for Scotland
Mr Mike Gapes MP - Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee

Top