Source: The Telegraph
On September 27, 2004 The Telegraph reported, "Michael Howard yesterday pitched for the votes of Britain's 600,000 Sikhs and pledged to do 'everything in my power' to fight discrimination and intolerance. The Tory leader, a guest at a gathering to mark the 400th anniversary of the first reading of the Sikhs' holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, said the religion and Conservatism had much in common. 'I believe there are many common and shared values between Sikhism and Conservatism,' Mr. Howard told the Network of Sikh Organisations UK at the Royal Albert Hall in London. A few days ago, the Tory leader announced plans to put annual limits on the number of immigrants entering Britain. But he said yesterday that a tough policy on immigration did not conflict with good race relations."