Press Release: Britain’s Dharmic Communities and the General Elections 2015

The Dharmic Ideas & Policy Foundation launches a landmark report titled “Britain’s Dharmic Communities and the General…

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—in other words, voters hailing from Indian traditions referred to hereinafter as the “Dharmic vote.”

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 in 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.”

  Mukesh Naker, Communications Officer

Dharmic Ideas & Policy Foundation 

Mobile         +44 77 1313 7425

Dharmic Ideas & Policy Foundation 

DIPF was established in February 2015 to give the Dharmic  Community  Organisations  and  grass  roots  a  steer  on  key policy matters that impact 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.

For interviews and further information, please contact:

Dr. Prakash Shah

Mobile 07711 141 777

Email. – [email protected]