Prathesh Panjak and other immigrant voters are casting their votes for the first time in a British election, eager to participate in the July 4 vote and potentially influence change in their adopted homeland.
The opposition Labour Party is poised to win decisively, ending the 14-year tenure of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.
Refugees and immigrants from Commonwealth countries, including former territories of the British Empire like Nigeria, India and Malaysia, have the right to vote in British elections.
Panjak, aged 27, arrived Britain in February last year and expressed excitement about voting, having missed the election in his native India.
“In my country, they don’t allow people from other countries to vote. I came here on a student visa, but they are giving us an opportunity, like British citizens,” said Panjak, who works part-time as an ambassador at his university in Manchester, northwest England.
Teh Wen Sun, a 33 years old Malaysian student from Salford, near Manchester, expressed her view that there isn’t much distinction between the two main parties.
However, she is eager to support a party that is more welcoming to immigrants.
Immigration remains a contentious issue in British elections, with Sunak pledging to reduce net migration levels should the Conservatives prevail.
Many British voters are concerned that high migration places undue strain on the state-run National Health Service, housing and education.
Since then, Sunak has implemented stricter visa regulations and gained international attention for a policy that involves sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Oyinkansola Dirisu, aged 31, a support worker from Manchester who arrived in Britain in 2022, expressed her anticipation of voting for Labour.
She emphasized the importance of making it simpler for individuals like herself to immigrate to Britain.
Esther Offem, aged 26, who came from Nigeria last September, remains undecided. She commented, “None of the parties have addressed my primary concerns yet.”
“But at the moment, I would probably go for the Conservatives … I’m not sure yet.”
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