London: In the last 12 months the British Sikh community has come of age in terms of politics. It has been led by the Sikh Federation (UK), often described as the first and only Sikh political party in the country and is now supported by the newly established Sikh Network.
Together they have produced an impressive document called the ‘Sikh Manifesto’ that has been followed by second rate efforts by other larger or supposedly more sophisticated communities.
Tomorrow the Sikh Network that will have strategic oversight of the recently launched Sikh Manifesto over the next five years is having its first official meeting.
At the meeting the key figures making up the Sikh Network will take stock of the three launch events that have taken place, obtain feedback from the Sikh Federation (UK) about the main political parties and consider next steps until the 7 May General Election.
One of the next steps taken is that the Sikh Federation (UK), supported by the Sikh Network has just written to the main candidates in 100 constituencies. These include the 50 target constituencies in the ‘Sikh Battleground’ disclosed in January and now 50 additional constituencies where Sikhs may hold the balance of power.
The 50 additional constituencies is mainly due to the surge in support for UKIP and the collapse of the Liberal Democrat vote. In all 50 constituencies identified Labour are hoping to ‘gain’ the seats from the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats. In many of these constituencies a twist is that Sikhs may hold the balance of power with a few hundred or up to 2,000 votes that Labour almost certainly need for victory.
Bhai Amrik Singh, the Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK) said:
‘So far the Labour leadership continue to take the Sikh vote for granted. What they need to realise is they must make specific commitments based on the Sikh Manifesto or Sikh voters can prevent them taking dozens of seats, stop them being the largest party and forming the next government. The clock is ticking, the stakes are high and they are running out of time.’
‘Although the Conservative leadership is quiet there is a possibility of a series of announcements, similar to the one about the Sikh regiment that will put the Labour leadership in a difficult position and having to play catch up.’
‘Labour has misjudged the situation in Scotland and are counting the losses to the Scottish National Party. In England Sikhs may prove to be a major headache, but at least they are in a position to do something positive about it.’
Each candidate in the 100 constituencies is being asked to provide a general endorsement of the Sikh Manifesto and indicate those items they are prepared to specifically commit to and work on if elected. Bhai Amrik Singh, the Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK) said:
’We will publish a summary of the responses from candidates in the 100 constituencies one month before the General Election. We are also planning meetings with the leadership of the main parties to get their commitment to specific issues that will be shared widely with the 700,000 strong Sikh community. Sikh voters will then look at both the support of the party as well as the individual candidates before casting their vote.’