ASH Sarkar has suggested that the timing of the new UK-India trade deal is a gift to Reform UK.
“It couldn't be more to Reform UK’s benefit than if Nigel Farage had written it himself,” the journalist said on BBC Politics Live on Wednesday.
The Labour Government announced on Tuesday that the UK and India have finally struck a trade deal after years of negotiations following Brexit.
Tariffs will be slashed on a number of British exports including whisky and Scottish salmon.
But opposition politicians have criticised a provision in the deal exempting some temporary Indian workers from National Insurance payments, claiming this would undercut British staff – which Jonathan Reynolds described as “completely false”.
Under the terms of the agreement, staff working for an Indian company who transferred to the UK for less than three years would pay into the Indian social security system rather than paying into both British and Indian systems as they do now.
UK workers temporarily in India would remain subject to national insurance, but be exempt from Indian social security levies.
Asked about her view on the deal, Sarkar hit out at Keir Starmer for being “inconsistent” in terms of messaging.
“It wasn't that long ago he was saying that globalisation was over. Globalisation was dead. And I think that this speaks to a lack of joined up thinking and consistency that is at the heart of his political project. I don't think that this is a man with a strong sense of vision or a particularly attuned ear when it comes to domestic politics.
She added: “I couldn't think of worse timing for a policy announcement like this, or something which is going to be more to the benefit of Nigel Farage and Reform.”
BBC host Jo Coburn then asked Sarkar about the “substance” of the deal.
“I mean, it is still a free trade deal with a country that is known to be protectionist, that will open up and probably go towards boosting growth. The core mission of the Government,” Coburn said.
But Sarkar said the growth globalisation has brought has been “very uneven”.
“It's benefited very rich people and different regions at different paces. And so, if you're someone in the UK, who works in the remnants of our industrial, manual sectors, it might not actually benefit you,” she said.
Sarkar added: “I think when you couple that with this question of National Insurance contributions, it couldn't be more to Reform’s benefit than if Nigel Farage had written it himself.”
