London - the beating heart of our great nation

ruggedtoast

Generali wrote: »

Just a thought here but perhaps Indian politicians would rather be visited by the Prime Minister and Mayor of London who happen to be white than by a couple of token brown people.

Would Britain expect Indian politicians on a visit to drag up a couple of successful white Indians? I doubt it.

I think this is all just a bit patronizing to Indians and just another stick to beat the Tories with. Surely there are enough things that this Government is doing badly to bring up without making up spurious points.

The point of the visits wasn't to appeal to Indian politicians. It was meant to appeal to ordinary Indian people who had been put off of going to the UK and investing there due to the recent ham fisted changes in visa regulations.

Generali

ruggedtoast wrote: »

The point of the visits wasn't to appeal to Indian politicians. It was meant to appeal to ordinary Indian people who had been put off of going to the UK and investing there due to the recent ham fisted changes in visa regulations.

So ordinary Indian people would be more impressed by a few token brown people than the Prime Minister of Britain and the Mayor of London?

It still sounds patronising: not everyone in the world subscribes to Guardianista/BBC PC leftism, indeed most find it ridiculous. I would imagine that most Indians regard Britain as a white country which indeed it is for the most part; the vast majority of people living in Britain are white despite what the racists and those that earn a living from racism will have you believe. Most Indians would no more be offended by meeting white English people than I would to meet a brown Indian.

ruggedtoast

Generali wrote: »

So ordinary Indian people would be more impressed by a few token brown people than the Prime Minister of Britain and the Mayor of London?

It still sounds patronising: not everyone in the world subscribes to Guardianista/BBC PC leftism, indeed most find it ridiculous. I would imagine that most Indians regard Britain as a white country which indeed it is for the most part; the vast majority of people living in Britain are white despite what the racists and those that earn a living from racism will have you believe. Most Indians would no more be offended by meeting white English people than I would to meet a brown Indian.

Where did I say that they were "offended" by David Cameron being white?

I said the visit was designed to appeal to a broader spectrum of Indians than the ones David Cameron studied with at Eton and Oxford.

The visit failed to do this because in the eyes of the Indian media, as reported by the Indian media at the time due to David Cameron's government being widely perceived as responsible for the following:

• Removal of the PSW to keep Indians out of the UK
• Stranding Indian students with no visa at London Met because Indian people are automatically under suspicion of cvisa abuse
• Subjecting South Asian people to aggressive and embarrassing UKBA visa interviews both in India and at Heathrow
• Forcing Indians to pay to go through health screening to ensure they don't have some biblical disease before they can get on a plane

Having government people trundling about trotting out the "Britain is open for business" slogan the High Commission have developed while enacting policies designed to keep Indians out of Britain was a waste of time.

What might not have been a waste of time would have been spending some of the money showcasing what successful Indians have achieved in the UK, visa problems not withstanding.

The entire UK not just London.

Generali

ruggedtoast wrote: »

Where did I say that they were "offended" by David Cameron being white?

I said the visit was designed to appeal to a broader spectrum of Indians than the ones David Cameron studied with at Eton and Oxford.

The visit failed to do this because in the eyes of the Indian media, as reported by the Indian media at the time due to David Cameron's government being widely perceived as responsible for the following:

• Removal of the PSW to keep Indians out of the UK
• Stranding Indian students with no visa at London Met because Indian people are automatically under suspicion of cvisa abuse
• Subjecting South Asian people to aggressive and embarrassing UKBA visa interviews both in India and at Heathrow
• Forcing Indians to pay to go through health screening to ensure they don't have some biblical disease before they can get on a plane

Having government people trundling about trotting out the "Britain is open for business" slogan the High Commission have developed while enacting policies designed to keep Indians out of Britain was a waste of time.

What might not have been a waste of time would have been spending some of the money showcasing what successful Indians have achieved in the UK, visa problems not withstanding.

The entire UK not just London.

So sending white people to India is no longer an issue? I'm pretty sure you posted earlier in the thread that the UK Government shouldn't have sent white posh boys (I paraphrase) to India.

You twist and turn like a twisty, turny thing.

ruggedtoast wrote: »

It would be nice if someone was talking up Manchester.

Recently David Cameron and a cohort of worthies went to India to try and talk up the UK, closely followed by BoJo talking up London.

In reality all Indians heard was a succession of posh white people going on about London.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

ruggedtoast wrote: »

The visit failed to do this because in the eyes of the Indian media, as reported by the Indian media at the time due to David Cameron's government being widely perceived as responsible for the following:

• Removal of the PSW to keep Indians out of the UK
• Stranding Indian students with no visa at London Met because Indian people are automatically under suspicion of cvisa abuse
• Subjecting South Asian people to aggressive and embarrassing UKBA visa interviews both in India and at Heathrow
• Forcing Indians to pay to go through health screening to ensure they don't have some biblical disease before they can get on a plane

If Indians are so outraged by sensible attempts to crack down on the likes of Mr Big Ben's Collige of English Studeys, and reasonable public health controls (TB is unfortunately on the rise, mainly amongst immigrant communities), then they can always apply to world class universities in the US and Australia, with their famously casual approaches to visas and immigration.

ruggedtoast

Generali wrote: »

So sending white people to India is no longer an issue? I'm pretty sure you posted earlier in the thread that the UK Government shouldn't have sent white posh boys (I paraphrase) to India.

You twist and turn like a twisty, turny thing.

I said all they heard was a succession of posh white people going on about London. Which is factually accurate.

Considering how many successful Indians there are in the UK, many of whom don't (gasp) live in London, yes I think they could have promoted a few of them as well if they wanted to sell a message about Indians being successful in the entire UK.

I'm sure David Cameron and Boris Johnston are very successful at being David Cameron and Boris Johnston in London, and people who look and sound like David Cameron and Boris Johnston and have a similar background, can be heartened that they too will be successful if they go and live and work where David Cameron and Boris Johnston live and work.

I'm just not sure what relevance that message has to the sub-continent.

John_Pierpoint

Generali wrote: »

So ordinary Indian people would be more impressed by a few token brown people than the Prime Minister of Britain and the Mayor of London?

It still sounds patronising: not everyone in the world subscribes to Guardianista/BBC PC leftism, indeed most find it ridiculous. I would imagine that most Indians regard Britain as a white country which indeed it is for the most part; the vast majority of people living in Britain are white despite what the racists and those that earn a living from racism will have you believe. Most Indians would no more be offended by meeting white English people than I would to meet a brown Indian.

There is a divide opening up between Uk Indians and Indian Indians.
[I am talking in the main about Hindus not any of the other Indian subcontinent subdivisions].
They feel free here in a way that younger sons felt free when they went to Australia and USA from England. They are keen to get this opportunity available to selected nephews but don't want "inferior" classes moving in next door, nor are they particularly keen on seeking guidance from the arrival of grandmother from back home.

A lot of Indians dream of their younger generation becoming "port out starboard home brown boys" with status professional jobs. Good luck to them.

Are English based Indians allowed to play for India or does it work a bit like Yorkshire cricket?

Something similar might be happening to the Poles.

GeorgeHowell

kabayiri wrote: »

Err, it moved to London in 1964.

Isn't it about time we dropped the reference to Manchester? Most Northerners have moved on (or passed on) since then.

Nowadays, the paper is more likely to mimic that Private Eye cartoon "It's Grim Up North (London)". :rotfl:

Considering the attitude of the Guardian-reading OP and the article from it that he posted it doesn't look as if it has moved on much at all from its northern, anti-London/South, chip-on-the-shoulder origins.

If London and Johnson are so awful why doesn't the paper do a BBC and move back to Manchester ? Perhaps the dilettante champagne-socialists who no doubt comprise much of its middle and senior management would not actually like to be that far from the Royal Opera House, or Gordon Ramsey at Claridges, or Annabels ?

A._Badger

GeorgeHowell wrote: »

Considering the attitude of the Guardian-reading OP and the article from it that he posted it doesn't look as if it has moved on much at all from its northern, anti-London/South, chip-on-the-shoulder origins.

If London and Johnson are so awful why doesn't the paper do a BBC and move back to Manchester ? Perhaps the dilettante champagne-socialists who no doubt comprise much of its middle and senior management would not actually like to be that far from the Royal Opera House, or Gordon Ramsey at Claridges, or Annabels ?

Don't be silly! The Guardian is in such financial trouble they couldn't even afford the bus fare back 'home'.

Take away their massive tax fiddle and the subsidy from that evil secondhand car comic (they cause global warming don't you know!? Think of the polar bears!) it would have been as much a part of Fleet St history as the Daily Sketch, years ago.

Moby

A._Badger wrote: »

Don't be silly! The Guardian is in such financial trouble they couldn't even afford the bus fare back 'home'.

Take away their massive tax fiddle and the subsidy from that evil secondhand car comic (they cause global warming don't you know!? Think of the polar bears!) it would have been as much a part of Fleet St history as the Daily Sketch, years ago.

Come come...the Guardian provides an oasis of intelligence from the desert of right wing bigotry and dross in the rest of the media.