The Dharmic Ideas & Policy Foundation launches a landmark report titled “Britain’s Dharmic Communities and the General Election 2015” illustrating the remarkable shift in British politics in terms of the voting patterns of the Dharmic communities (i.e. those from the Indian traditions).
In 2010 one estimate puts the share of the Dharmic vote as approx. 68% Labour, 16% Conservative & 12% LibDem. The 2015 share of the Dharmic vote is approx. 49% Conservative, 41% Labour, & 7% LibDem. There is also the anomaly of inner city constituencies where the Dharmic communities have a significant presence where the Labour Vote / margins have gone up. e.g. Leicester East. But the Leicestershire constituencies such as Market Harborough and Loughborough have seen Conservative votes and margins go up. This report goes some way to explaining how these dramatic changes are taking place.
Dr. Prakash Shah, author of the report said “The Dharmic voter has become a significant political player in contemporary Britain. We see this in voting pattern shifts and also the activism represented by election manifestos being issued by Dharmic organisations. However, the major political parties still have some way to go to realise the potential that the Dharmic voter offers to their prospects of success. The Dharmic communities also represent a demographic that is inspirational and displays overwhelmingly positive results on key indicators. While there are constraints there are also large opportunities here not only for political parties but also for the leaderships of Dharmic organisations to get more actively engaged in policy issues as some bodies, such as the British Hindu Voice, have already been doing.”
Dr Shah further added, “This report provides notice to all the major political parties that the Dharmic voter cannot be ignored any longer particularly in a climate of greater plurality among political parties and the greater choice available to the voter.”
Kind Regards
Mukesh Naker, Communications Officer
Dharmic Ideas & Policy Foundation
Dharmic Ideas & Policy Foundation
Chairman: Prof. Nath Puri | Co-Director: Prof. Gautam Sen | Co-Director: Dr. Prakash Shah | Communications: Mukesh Naker
143 Cavendish Rd, Leicester. LE2 7PJ United Kingdom E: director@dipf.org.uk W: www.dipf.org.uk
Council Members
Dr. Come Carpentier | Dr. Jakob de Roover | Dr Jasdev Rai | Dr. Koenraad Elst | Dr. Manish Pandit | Rajiv Varma | Dr. Rakesh Sinha | Mr. Rohit Patel | Prof. S. N. Balagangadhara | Sandeep Balakrishnan | Sanjeev Sanyal ! Smita Barooah | Swami Vigyananand | Dr. Yvette Rosser
Notes to the Editors
DIPF was established in February 2015 to give the Dharmic Community Organisations and grass roots a steer on key policy matters that impact on them.
Dr Prakash Shah specialises in legal pluralism, religion and law, ethnic minorities and diasporas in law, immigration, refugee and nationality law, and comparative law with special reference to South Asia. He has published widely and lectured internationally in these fields. Dr Shah was Lecturer at SOAS, University of London from 1993, and Lecturer at the University of Kent at Canterbury from August 2000. He joined Queen Mary, University of London in 2002, where he is now a Reader in Culture and Law. Dr Shah is also Director of GLOCUL: The Centre for Culture and Law at Queen Mary.
Source: WHN Media Network
