"We are trying to bring the light back"
Andy Burnham marked his first Diwali as Prime Minister, as the annual Diwali celebration was held at 10 Downing Street.
The PM attended the celebrations with his wife Marie-France van Heel, where they were seen clapping along, following the lighting of diyas.
With Downing Street decorated with diyas and flowers, the event brought together representatives of Britain’s Hindu and wider faith communities.
At the event, Burnham said he hoped his Labour government would bring renewed light and hope to the country, reflecting the festival’s message of positivity and togetherness.
He said: “We are trying to bring the light back, and bring the hope back, and bring the positivity and the unity back.
“I will do everything I can within my power to make that [flame] stronger and stronger, and always in my position, recognise the huge contribution of all of our communities, our Hindu community, our Sikh, Jain communities, our Muslim communities.
“That’s what makes this country such a wonderful place, and it is a wonderful place.
“And we’re so lucky to live in it. And I can assure you that the government will continue to back you in everything that we do.”
Burnham also highlighted the potential for stronger economic ties between Britain and India:
“I can say that as Prime Minister, I will be building the strongest possible links with India.
“We’re just celebrating the return of our mayors. The Great North went to India recently, our Northern mayors, and made a huge impact with our business secretary [Jonathan Reynolds].”
Andy Burnham’s speech came after he was introduced by Kanishka Narayan, the Bihar-born Welsh politician who serves as Britain’s first Minister for Artificial Intelligence.
Narayan reflected on the challenges facing British Asian communities amid political divisions, drawing on the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ to highlight the significance of Diwali’s message of light and stability.
Quoting the Hindu scripture, he noted that the “light of a shining lamp doesn’t flicker in a windless place”.
Narayan said: “I often feel that those of us from the British Asian community have felt in the last few months and years that the politics of this country, the light of our politics, has flickered in the winds of division.
“One of the things I felt from my boss, the Prime Minister, is that his light has steadied those winds of division, and instead brought us to a much steadier light of Diwali today.”
The Downing Street celebrations concluded with a reading from the ‘Gita’ by Visakha Dasi, president of the Hare Krishna Temple in Watford, followed by a poem for world peace delivered by a representative of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.
The event formed part of a series of Diwali celebrations taking place across London ahead of the festival on November 8.
