India-UK ties expected to stay the course with Andy Burnham as new PM
Burnham, 56, was elected unopposed on Friday and will take over from Keir Starmer once the formal choreography of the transfer of power is completed in Downing Street on Monday.
While many things are expected to change given the former mayor of Greater Manchester’s promise to do things differently, the most important constant in terms of foreign policy on the India front is expected to change.
“Over the past year, we have valued the close relationship with Greater Manchester officials, especially Mr Andy Burnham, whose energy and warm support has done so much to strengthen India-North-UK ties,” Vishakha Yaduvanshi, Consul General of India in Manchester, told PTI. he said.
Yaduvanshi, the first head of India’s new diplomatic mission in the UK, sees the opening of the Consulate in March last year as a “landmark moment” in India-UK relations, shedding light on the enormous potential of “industry, academia and sporting ethos” in the north of England.
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“His [Burnham’s] 2019 India visit, meeting with former Indian high commissioner [Vikram Doraiswami] Virtual participation in India-North England Opportunity Summit in December 2025 [March 2026] Burnham spoke of “fond memories” of a visit seven years ago to Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi, coordinated by the Manchester India Partnership (MIP), an organization set up for business and universities to engage with India.
“India is a key market in Greater Manchester’s internationalization strategy because it offers significant opportunities to the city region, but these opportunities are reciprocal and Greater Manchester also assists India with its own economic growth plans,” he said at the time.
He highlighted “digital technology, engineering, advanced manufacturing, healthcare and academia” as well as “tourism, sports and cultural cooperation opportunities” as some of the sectors of focus.
Rajesh Agrawal, chairman of the diaspora group Labor Friends of India (LFIN), said: “Andy understands that growth comes from long-term relationships. If you look at his own history in Manchester, he has worked to strengthen ties with India through businesses, universities, innovation and improving connectivity with direct flights between India and Manchester.”
Indore-born Agrawal, who worked closely with Burnham during her previous tenure as Labour’s deputy mayor of London, thinks the incoming Prime Minister’s domestic devolution agenda will find synergy in India’s federal structure.
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“He is a big fan of devolution and empowerment of different regions, and India is of course a federal structure with many states. So I also see him interacting more with regional governments,” he opined.
Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow for South Asia at the London-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), predicts “continuity” in India-UK relations as they “haven’t been better for over a decade” with back-to-back prime ministerial visits last year and the entry into force of CETA on Wednesday.
“New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has the opportunity to deepen these enhanced India-UK ties, deliver on his prosperity agenda and deliver a landmark win in bilateral defense and strategic cooperation with India, which aims to diversify defense relations while modernizing armed force capacity and increasing defense production to export to the world,” Roy-Chaudhury said.
British Indian think tank 1928 Institute echoed the sense of progress but called for proactive measures to maintain the momentum built by the outgoing Prime Minister and his team.
“From an India policy and diaspora perspective, Andy Burnham will have a strong foundation. However, his attention is likely to be drawn in several directions, especially given the domestic focus of his agenda.
“Therefore, it would be prudent to constitute an India Task Force and/or appoint an India Trade Envoy to sustain the current momentum,” said Dr Nikita Ved, president of the institute.
Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer and co-chairman of the India All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), expressed confidence that Burnham would continue to “put India first” and hoped that the political instability that has led to the UK’s seventh prime minister in 10 years would lead to some stability.
“There will be stability for the next three years, at least until the next general election, so that businesses in the UK and India can invest in each other’s countries, which will create jobs on both sides,” Bilimoria said.
“We need to double our trade from around £50bn today to £100bn by 2030… I am confident of a very bright future for the UK and India from now on,” he said.
Tech entrepreneur Uday Nagaraju, one of the new members of the British Indian Labor Party in the House of Lords, said the new British Prime Minister has inherited an “extraordinarily strong” bilateral scenario and is expected to maintain the “same strategic direction” with India.
“This will also be combined with Andy Burnham’s distinctive focus, which builds on his work in Manchester on regional growth, skills, infrastructure and bringing government and business together.
“I think the next step is [for India-UK ties] It will be about turning the trade agreement into investment, exports, employment, research partnerships and opportunities for smaller companies in both countries,” Nagaraju said.
