Tony Blair awarded medal for contribution to UK-India Relations
London, 3 July 2009

Former Prime Minister, Tony Blair today received the Fenner Brockway medal for his contribution to UK-India relations. He was presented the medal by the First Secretary of State Lord Mandelson on behalf of the Labour Friends of India (LFIN) UK Parliamentary Group. Lord Mandelson paid tribute to the former Prime Minister for “being committed to India and to understanding the dramatic way in which India’s place and role in the world has changed in the last twenty years".

Labour Friends of India (LFIN) was formed in 1999 to promote a stronger relationship between the UK and Indian parliaments. It recognises the efforts of figureheads in modern political society who play a significant role in the modern day relationship with India. The medal being awarded to Tony Blair today was struck in the name of Fenner Brockway, who argued powerfully in parliament for an independent India. The Medal was first awarded to former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in 2007 and then to former Labour Party leader and former Chair of the British Council, Lord Kinnock in 2008.

Tony Blair was UK Prime Minister between 2 May 1997 and 27 June 2007. His key achievements in strengthening the UK India relationship include:

• Signing the New Delhi Declaration in Jan 2002 which marked a new, mature relationship between the two countries. A relationship not shaped by sentiment, or a shared past, but forged in the hard realities of the modern world.
• Visiting India and Pakistan at a time of intense danger following the murderous attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 and escalating military tensions.
• Increasing the British International Development budget to India from £60 million to £300 million. This was a huge shift in recognition that a third of the world’s poor live in India and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals there needed to be a new focus on India.
• Being the first leader of the G8 to go on record and support India’s bid for a seat on the UN Security Council. He subsequently started inviting India to G8 meetings.
• Resisting protectionist tendencies and actively promoting liberal markets, particularly through the new annual UK – India Investment summits. By the end of 2006 the UK was India’s 3rd largest investor cumulatively – after Mauritius, and the USA.

Barry Gardiner, Chairman of Labour Friends of India, said:“When Tony Blair became Prime Minister, he immediately saw that the relationship between the UK and India had become too comfortable and unproductive. He knew that if we were to form a strong future partnership, it should not be on the basis of old sentimentalities, but upon a shared vision of being modern and equal trading partners who recognised each other’s strategic global role in working for justice and security.”

“It was through his encouragement that over the next few years more than fifty Labour MPs took the trouble to visit India for themselves, to meet with their counterparts and to gain a firsthand understanding of the country.”

H. E. Mr. S. S. Mukherjee High Commissioner of India, said “It is indeed fitting that the Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and a dear friend of India, who played a key role in the establishment of LFIN in 1999, will deliver the annual lecture at the tenth anniversary of LFIN. His presence at the event and those of his illustrious predecessors in previous events is a reflection of the important niche LFIN has been able to carve for itself.”

“LFIN has played an important role in providing a direction and sense of purpose in our bilateral relationship. A series of high-level exchange of visits reaffirmed the two countries’ common vision of a strategic partnership, further diversifying the already multi-faceted engagement between the two countries.”

About The Fenner Brockway Medal

The Fenner Brockway Medal commemorates a man who was born in colonial India in 1888 and later dedicated his life to campaigning for the independence of India from British rule. Labour Friends of India has chosen to pay tribute to Lord Brockway for his persistent battle against inequality and oppression, and the tenacity with which he fought those battles. Lord Brockway was active in the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and later campaigned for racial equality, introducing a bill outlawing racial discrimination for nine successive years before legislation was passed in 1964.

About Tony Blair

Tony Blair continues to be active in public life. He has many interests, not least his current role in the Middle East, which takes up the largest proportion of his time. He is working for the USA, UN, Russia and EU as the Quartet Representative, helping the Palestinians to prepare for statehood as part of the international community’s effort to secure peace. He has launched the Tony Blair Faith Foundation to promote respect and understanding of and between the major religions and to make the case for faith as a force for good in the modern world. The foundation will work with Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. Mr Blair believes that faith will have great influence in how the challenges that globalisation presents will be met. http://www.tonyblairfaithfoundation.org