Lord Bilimoria recently discussed the fortunes of the UK’s curry industry with the financial newspaper City AM. In his article, he pinpoints the main challenges facing the industry and explains the reasons why the unreasonably high barriers preventing skilled South Asian chefs from plying their trade in the UK should be relaxed.
In the last debate on the EU referendum in the House of Lords before the historic vote, Lord Bilimoria spoke about the implications of the UK leaving the EU. In his speech, Lord Bilimoria reaffirmed his status as a Eurosceptic who reluctantly supports the UK’s continued membership of the EU. He noted the issues that continue to haunt the European Union, but stressed the many benefits that Britain gains remaining a member, while dispatching a number of myths that those campaigning to leave the EU have propagated over the course of the referendum campaign.
In a wide-ranging interview, Lord Bilimoria spoke to Michael Skapinker, a journalist at the Financial Times, about his experiences as an immigrant in the UK, the evolution of Cobra Beer, the government’s immigration policies regarding international students, and the role of the House of Lords.
In an interview with David Watts for Asian Affairs magazine Lord Bilimoria referenced his own background as an immigrant to demonstrate the damaging nature of Britain’s current immigration policy. He noted the negative consequences of the government’s approach to immigration, such as its impact on the UK’s Higher Education and curry industries, and stressed that the government’s flawed approach, championed by Theresa May, is destroying Britain’s future business success potential.
Lord Bilimoria was recently interviewed by the Editor of UK Asian , Poonam Joshi, about the government’s approach to immigration. During the interview, he talks about his own experiences of immigration as an international student, notes the faults with the government’s current immigration rhetoric, and discusses the immigration policies that should be introduced.
It was recently announced that Lord Bilimoria will succeed his long standing friend and colleague, Baroness Prashar, as President of the UK Council for International Students (UKCISA), the UK’s national advisory body for international students.
Speaking about the appointment, Lord Bilimoria noted the excellence of the UK’s universities on the world stage and praised the significant contribution that international students provide to our economy and to Britain’s society as a whole. As a previous international student to the UK, Lord Bilimoria is certainly well placed to represent the concerns of students travelling from abroad and he has vowed to represent all international students to the best of his ability.
This week, Lord Bilimoria, in his role as the founder of Cobra Beer, launched a national campaign that will see some of Britain’s best chefs share their knowledge and expertise with chefs from across the UK’s curry restaurant community.
The Chef Initiative campaign was announced by Cobra in response to the challenges faced by many in the curry industry, which have been exacerbated by a sharp decline in the number of highly-skilled chefs entering into the industry from abroad, as a way to give back to the ethnic restaurant community. The campaign was unveiled at an event in London’s Cinnamon Kitchen, and was co-hosted by award-winning chef Vivek Singh – one of the six chefs leading the training sessions over the coming months.
The initiative will see workshops taking place across the country, which will be led by Alfred Prasad, former chef at Tamarind, Vivek Singh, The Cinnamon Club & Cinnamon Kitchen, Cyrus Todiwala OBE DL, Café Spice Namaste, Mehernosh Mody La Porte des Indes, Vineet Bhatia, Vineet Rosi, and Atul Kochhar, Benares.
Lord Bilimoria recently spoke to the New Statesman about the Conservative party’s immigration policies and the business credibility of the Labour party in the run up to the 2015 General Election.
In the article, he put forward the case for implementing a coherent immigration policy that encouraged bright students to remain in the UK and explained the reasons why he is optimistic about Britain’s future.
This Tuesday, Lord Bilimoria responded to the Select Committee on Soft Power and the UK’s Influence report Persuasion and Power in the Modern World. Speaking in the House of Lords, he praised the report and discussed the significant soft power that India, his country of birth, and the UK, his adoptive country, wield on the world stage.
Lord Bilimoria went on to detail the threats to the UK’s soft and hard power, which include the repeated budget cuts inflicted on Britain’s cultural and defence institutions, and noted the areas in which the UK continues to excel.
Lord Bilimoria today wrote the following letter to the leading financial newspaper, City AM, critiquing the Home Secretary’s proposals to expel foreign students from the United Kingdom upon the immediate conclusion of their studies.
As former international student himself, Lord Bilimoria remains a vocal support of the rights of people to study in at British universities, as well as being allowed to remain and work in the country after graduation.