This election is making me feel very alienated as an Indian woman

I wasn't aware anything racist had been said, but I've been ignoring most of the election coverage and anything Nigel Farage has said because it's all too depressing.

As for Rishi Sunak, I think it was stupid of him to leave an event like that early. I'd say the same thing about any politician - whoever told him leaving early was an OK idea clearly hates him or is an idiot. The public outcry was predictable.

I don't comment on how ridiculous everything Nigel Farage says, or I'd never have time to talk about anything else. Just assume anything he says, most decent people disagree with.

I agree with Starting. Farage is a racist twat and what he said was obviously a very thinly veiled racist dig. However Rishi made a huge politcal faux par by leaving early.

The argument that X other politician wouldn't have been so harshly criticised are moot anyway, because nobody else would've done it.

What ALL of the Indian community??
V offensive.

Look at the deeds of the person, not their race - if you are trying to be re-elected as prime minister of a country you don't walk out of a very important memorial early! I couldn't care less if he was pink, red or orange with green spots and came from Mars, he's an utter prick.

The Indian community didn't care when Farage was being racist against Romanians and other Eastern Europeans to get Brits to vote for Brexit. Reform/Farage IS racist. Always has been. There's nothing new about it. Your community is just the easy target for them at the moment.

Rishi's decision, especially off the back of him wanting to introduce national service, was unbelievably stupid and disrespectful. The backlash is well deserved and no, I don't think Boris would have received more understanding from the public.

ps totally sympathise with your overall point though OP, I feel increasingly unwelcome in this country. the narrative around people of colour/of foreign origin is abhorrent

just because nige is a racist twat doesn't mean what rishi did was right
it had nothing to do with his Indian origins. rishi is as British as they come. it had to do with sheer arrogance and a total lack of understanding of the public sentiment. not to mention both he and his staff are totally incompetent. this is something so basic to not fuck up.

I say all this as someone of southasian heritage.

It's dog whistle central in this country at the moment.

Just know that these incredibly loud voices ARE the minority.

Farage got away with telling us lies to get his way in the referendum and is trying the same tactics now.

Luckily, most people can see straight through him.

Why do you call the media storm 'insane'? It was a completely stupid and ignorant thing to do whatever ethnicity he is - that didn't come into it for the media, more that the Tories have messed up yet again.

I suspect he probably would've if it had been, say, Ed Miliband. But then that would be racist too.

I think your are confusing two different things...

-Reform saying implying that Sunak because of his heritage cannot be patriotic is totally racist and unacceptable.

-Sunak being criticised in general for leaving the ceremonies early to do a TV interview is however completely justified. This was not appropriate behaviour for a PM. The behaviour is being criticised here and this has nothing to do with his ethnic background.

There's no surprise in Farage being racist. He always has been.

What I am bothered by is the fact that he lacked the foresight to see that this would be a huge issue with the people whos' vote he so desperately needs.

Against all advice too, don't forget.

But the point is farage wouldn’t have used “our culture” for anyone else.

Absolutely an opportunity for a dog whistle.

I think Farage's comments are completely out of line and I think mostly the media and other politicians have done a good job of calling them out as such.

I don't think the D-Day stuff is about race though. I think it would be the same if it was Johnson, or Truss or Cameron when he was prime minister. The fact is that Sunak is the leader of a party who's core voter base is older people who are likely to be hugely bothered about showing the right amount of respect. On top of that, Sunaks constituency contains the largest military base in Britain, another group who are going to care about it.

I'm not personally bothered that he left D-Day early. What I am bothered by is the fact that he lacked the foresight to see that this would be a huge issue with the people whos' vote he so desperately needs. That to me shows he's incapable of being forward thinking, of working out the consequences of his actions ahead of time, and given both of those qualities are needed by a good leader, that he's utterly unworthy of my vote.

I do think people have the impression that he has one foot of the door and isn't very committed to the UK. I have that too tbh but that is because he is very rich and has a green card.

I also have that impression. His loyalties are with global elite, not British public.
And the national service nonsense... he REALLY is not planning to get elected again.

Good.

I think you're right that he's carrying the can for the whole party. But in fairness, he was in government for nearly all of it. The only thing he's not implicated in is the Truss budget.

The racism that I see around Sunak is with regards to his close link to the US (eg I bet the election is 4th July so the Sunaks have enough time to fly to the US and settle their daughters before the start of the new school year)

Anybody skipping the D-Day event would have been rightly blasted and that includes blonde /blue eyed Johnson.

Farage is pals and an admirer of Trump so will be using his techniques to get lots more media attention than his actual influence should attract. The media are going to report everything that the gobshite says as if he has a chance of winning but they are just loving the ready made content that Farage is going to provide them with. He will be rewarded with tabloid front pages as if he matters but tabloids just want memorable moments and sound bites and Farage will have studied Trump and known how to provide this.

Indeed. Very unsavoury OP. Boris has recently used a Jewish slur in respect of a comment about Starmer. Knowing that Starmer's wife is Jewish. As he's a White British male a vast number of people will look the other way. Anti-Semitism on a Monday, suddenly unable to see or address it on a Tuesday.

Also, I don't actually think that Farage is racist, he just says racist things to attract the racist Tory voters to his party.

Unfortunately, what Sunak did was so stupid that he allowed Farage to make that comment.

I think that Rishi is suffering to an extent from lots of people being pissed off with the Tories after Johnson's antics, Truss's antics, the decimation of public services, high taxation and all the rest. Plus, I think the people are ready for a change.
However, he has utterly screwed up this election campaign. This isn't about race, it is about utter incompetence.
However, there is no doubt that Nigel Farage is a downright racist, and his comments about DDay were a blatant dog whistle. And it is very depressing to think that there is a section of the population who shares his views. I can totally understand why you feel alienated, and I am sorry that you are being made to feel that way.

I agree with much of your post but no I think few who are anti immigration and are not white British will feel differently now as they will separate themselves between good and not so good immigrants. Braverman is still in full support of Farage being back into the fold of the Tory party.

They also represent themselves not all Asian people (many who are Tory supporters for many reasons)