To wonder what Starmer was thinking with this one

[sideeyes]

Indian nationals being cheaper to hire in the UK? Not paying NI contributions? What is the massive gain we get from this? As a life-long Labour voter this is just another policy that makes me want to cry. He just doesn’t get it, does he?

"This agreement will operate on similar principles to the UK’s other Social Security Agreements (SSA) with the EU and countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Japan, Chile and South Korea.“

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-india-trade-deal-conclusion-summary/uk-india-trade-deal-conclusion-summary

If you scroll down it gives you sources and data and is produced by the source of the actual policy, so it's as close as you're going to get.

That page is just a collection of quotes - it's a poor attempt at spin and essentially bullshit that says nothing.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reciprocal-agreements/reciprocal-agreements

@RafaistheKingofClay he doesn't hate the UK economy but he is power hungry and he knows the way to get it is to appeal to all those disenchanted and fed up people who feel poor, marginalised and unrepresented. Whipping up anti-Brit sentiment is an easy way to do that. People need someone to blame and he will use any tactic he can to blame everyone else and say that Reform will be the solution. Power is all that he is interested in at any cost.

No it isn't. If you actually read it, there are a set of links / references at the bottom to data and other policy sources to support the statements.

I can't stand him, either personally or politically, but given who owns most of our media, it's not down to him how this is being reported.

Means testing of WFA was needed whether folk liked it or not. And the expenses jibes, whipped up media frenzy. And why on earth would Remainers back Reform ?

If we get a Reform government, well, it’s entirely on people like you.

I have read them - are you saying you can't see any possible issues with the modelling approach used?

Interesting that India are about to Become the worlds 3rd largest economy. We are not the power house a lot of people still think we are. I assume China will overtake the USA before long. World powers will shift over the next few decades. Maybe we should be grateful India have agreed to do a deal with us?

Lol. Just absolute scaremongering and no ability to think critically, just lap up media headlines.
I say let’s just bring it on. Get Nige as PM and see all our troubles melt away.

This type of arrangement has been around for a very long time. I did a secondment (ie fixed term, coming home) to the States. Initially a J1 visa - i didn't pay FICA, then after18 months moved to an L1 visa where I did. That was over 30 years ago. I don't get the issue. It is considered beneficial to have good quality staff move around companies.

Someone else already posted upthread the policy statement which is a more factual and complete laydown of the deal.

UK-India Trade Deal: conclusion summary

I found it very useful in getting underneath all the competing rhetoric and should raise a few "why is this lying bastard lying to me" questions about the terms in which it's being described by political and media figures.

.Some people are missing the “nuance” here. This is purely about trade and future growth opportunities and tapping into one of the fastest growing economies, when ours is stagnant, which happens to be the one, which from a security perspective, is arguably safest for us, as well.
Secondly, it is not pro the Muslim Labour vote either. Go look up what is happening between India and Pakistan right now. Furthermore, the current Indian PM has been criticised by the Muslim community in India, repetitively. So Labour are not buying the Muslim or minority vote with this, not at all. It’s an economic deal primarily.

Finally, China tends to back Pakistan because historically India gave refuge to the Dalai Lama from Tibet. China obviously has a problem with that.
China is a fast growing economy etc but there are security concerns with the Chinese Government (not with the people itself) for us, whether anyone likes that or not.

Starmer should do as many deals as possible, especially if there is a chance of someone like Farage getting in. It is the grown up thing to do and in the best interests of the country long term.

It’s a lowering of cost for Indian outsourcing companies and unlimited visas.
Freedom of Movement was a comparable scenario.
We expected a few thousand Poles, and got a million.
We can speculate what’s going to happen, based on the past, but only time will tell.

I’m not a racist, I am an immigrant abroad and my whole team is Polish, Spanish and % wise mostly Indian nationals. I have seen what happens first hand. Salaries for IT in the UK will stagnate, jobs will be lost to Indians.

As I mentioned, it’s good we have a trade deal with India, excellent in fact, but there will be consequences to our labour market.

I'm surprised that with the hundreds of thousands of highly skilled Indians who came in the last few years under the Boriswave, there are still more needed.

I would like to understand how this deal benefits the person on the street, for example, a working class woman in the north of England? How is she likely to benefit from this? Will her town see more affordable housing, will this reduce pressure on the NHS, will her kids be able to get into the local school, will roads around her town be less congested, will she pay less tax on her minimum-wage job, will she be able to retire earlier, will her community be more cohesive or more divided?

Or will the reality be that in a few years time the housing crisis will be even worse with families living in one bedroom, but whichever Government is in power hailing the 0.01% added to GDP by infinity more people in the country?

Can you share your data on that? I can’t find it anywhere.

All this talk of "unlimited visas" is a deliberate attempt to mislead and scaremonger.

True, there is no arbitrary cap on the number of visas that can be granted to Indian citizens, but there wasn't a cap before this deal either. And the trade agreement hasn't reduced the visa requirements either, so nothing has really changed on that front. It is absurd to draw comparisons with Freedom of Movement, and you know it. You're just relying on the hope that others won't.

Where is your data that 300,000 British born UK nationals are living in India?

The cost of the Indians has dropped 20%. What do you think is going to happen?

@myhightree if the working class woman works for a company making UK-manufactured cosmetics, medical devices, aerospace items, lamb, salmon, electrical machinery, soft drinks, chocolate, and biscuits then that is good news for the company and her, as exports of those goods to India will increase and her job security is likely to improve

If she likes textiles products (clothes, duvet covers, sheets etc) for her family, she will now find that they come in cheaper from India, along with other goods that we also currently import from India.

Trade deals tend not to be about housing and local infrastructure. So she won't see any change there, in the same way that she wouldn't from our trade deal with Australia.

He should know the Reform mob are not going to read too deeply.

Has the cost really dropped by 20%?

The Indian equivalent of national insurance will still need to be paid. Added to this, employers will need to fund relocation costs, visa fees, NHS surcharge etc. It isn't the big deal that you seem to think it is.

20% of an Indian IT salary if not an equivalent of 20% of a UK IT salary.
It’s a cost lowering for the outsourcers.Only time will tell. In four years let’s see what happened.

Its a good deal as I read it. Allows the UK to sell goods into a strong market, NI concession is not major.