Support for Nigel Farage is growing among British Indians, with recent polling from a diaspora group suggesting Reform is improving in some demographics it had previously struggled.
Research by a group of Oxford academics, analysing the British Indian community, at the 1928 Institute showed Reform had jumped in the past year from four per cent to 13 per cent.
The findings are being released to coincide with Diwali, and still show support for Mr Farage's party among Britain's largest minority ethnic community remains significantly below the national level.
However, the increase since the election last year is far higher than the national average, according to The Guardian.
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It shows Mr Farage's party is gaining traction in communities it has traditionally struggled.
"British India support for Reform is significantly lower than that of the general UK population," the report said.
"However, there is a strong upwards trend in support."
British Indians form roughly three per cent of the population and are quickly becoming important swing voters.
British Indians celebrate Diwali in Trafalgar Square last year
|GETTY
They have been closely aligned with Labour for decades, which has been the party seen as being more tolerant towards immigrants in the 1960s and 1970s.
Those ties have started to fray as the community has established itself over time.
Research has pointed to social conservatism and growing nationalism among Hindus has helped drive the community further to the right.
A Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report in 2021 found Labour's support for Kashmiri independence during Jeremy Corbyn's leadership had turned off some British Indian voters.
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Support for Labour has dropped among British Indians since last General Election
|GETTY
Mr Farage has had mixed views on south Asian immigration.
He criticised the Government's recent trade deal with India, saying it made it easier to bring in workers from the subcontinent.
In 2015, he said he preferred Indian and Australian migrants compared to those coming from eastern Europe.
The 1928 Institute findings come from a report on the demographics and political priorities of Indian's in the UK.
More than 2,000 voters were surveyed earlier this year and were compared to voting patterns last year, as well as a similar poll half a decade ago.
It found that at the last election, 48 per cent of British Indians voted for Labour, 21 per cent were in favour of the Conservatives, and only four per cent voted for Reform.
Reform had only won 0.4 per cent of the British Indian vote five years ago.
However, Labour's support within the community stands at 35 per cent.
The Conservatives have dropped to 18 per cent, whereas the Greens' support rose from eight per cent to 13 per cent.
Changing policy priorities has been a particular driver.
Indian voters have put education at the top of their concerns, while health has moved from second and been replaced with the economy.
Equality and human rights have dropped from fifth to seventh.
Co-author on the report, Nikita Ved, said Reform UK was "disrupting traditional voting patterns within the British Indian community".
"As economic and social frustrations deepen, both major parties may face growing pressure to engage more directly with a community whose political loyalties can no longer be taken for granted," she said.
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