We are just back from the Parliamentary summer recess when MPs head back to their constituencies and speak to their voters. As an MP for a London seat I head back there every night but for some from much further away it is an amazing opportunity to see their families and to spend more time with the people they represent.

So, as we start a new Parliamentary session, we can think clearly about what has come before and what lies ahead. The last few years have been mixed for India-UK relations, a deteriorating relationship over visas has caused resentment but no real change to trade and investment. Numbers of Indian students studying in the UK are slowly rising again, but still significantly down from figures a decade ago, this is disappointing, and a failure of British policy. Brexit has, as with all sectors, hit confidence and FDI doesn't look as rosy as it once did. Brexit might be portrayed by its supporters as an opportunity for Britain to trade with the world, but the world doesn't seem to agree. Domestically the Conservative Party and Prime Minister, once so close to Prime Minister Modi, now looks more distant as Modi and May are nowhere near as close as Modi and Cameron.

But Brexit isn't over yet, May isn't expected to be Prime Minister for much longer and maybe we can expect a change in visa policy. The UK has stepped up its game in India, and the Foreign Office team across the country is focused on business and trade, selling the areas where we complement the work of each other. The new trade tsar and experienced High Commissioner are certainly doing their duty for Britain fighting every day for new and improved relationships. We will shortly have a new Indian High Commissioner in London, who can carry on the excellent work of H.E. YK Sinha and the team.

A General Election looming in India will also change the dynamic, and while running into the election no one will be announcing anything groundbreaking, whatever the result we will have a re-energised PM Modi fresh from re-election or a new Congress government moving quickly to capitalise on their victory with change and quick wins. The legal sector in India, a closed shop to British firms, will be a key plank of British asks, but a major barrier to a Free Trade Agreement. Sector-specific agreements are achievable in the short to medium term, and would be welcomed by both sides, but there are still issues to be ironed out.

India and the UK are strong partners and natural allies. Similar, or at the very least related, legal and political systems make us natural friends. When Prime Minister Modi visited the UK for Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting he received, broadly, a hugely positive reception, as the first Indian PM to attend CHOGM for many years it showed a positive bent to the UK. There is much to build upon and great positivity to be harnessed for the UK and India.