Immigration 1944/79 - Society in Transition 1918 - 1979

Why did large numbers of immigrants begin to arrive in Britain from the Commonwealth in 1948 onwards?

§  During the Second World War many Commonwealth citizens fought and died for Britain.

§  After the war the Labour government passed the British Nationality Act in 1948.

§  This said that all citizens of the Commonwealth were British citizens.

§  The Act meant that Commonwealth citizens had the right to come and settle in Britain.

§  The earliest immigrants came from India, where, after independence and partition in 1947, some Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs found themselves isolated.

§  In the early 1950s many immigrants began to arrive from the West Indies.

§  India, Pakistan and the West Indies came to be known as the New Commonwealth.

§  The National Health Service had been set up in 1948 and railway and bus transport had been nationalised. Large numbers of extra workers were needed.

§  Advertising campaigns were started in the West Indies and India and Pakistan to try to attract workers.

§  In 1954, 9,000 West Indians came to Britain, rising to 26,000 in 1956 and 66,000 in 1961.

§  Wages in Britain were much higher than in other parts of the Commonwealth and the standard of living was rising very quickly.

Problems with immigration

§  Immigrants often found themselves living in the poorest accommodation in the worst areas of big cities.

§  Some areas—notably Toxteth in Liverpool, St Ann’s in Nottingham, Handsworth in Birmingham and Brixton in London—attracted so many immigrants that there was what the government called ‘white flight’ from these areas, as the original white population began to move out to other parts of the city.

§  The ‘colour bar’ - Landlords would not rent to immigrants, employers would not hire immigrants (e.g. Bristol Bus Company)

§  Trade unions failed to support immigrant workers - white trade unionists were often concerned their jobs were being taken by black immigrants who would work for less

§  Those who found work were only offered the lowest-paid and most unskilled jobs - on average immigrants were paid 28% less than white workers

§  ‘Teddy Boy’ gangs of young, white men sought to intimidate black immigrants

Race Riots

·       In the St Ann’s area of Nottingham in August 1958 a crowd of up to 1000 black and white youths fought each other, resulting in a number of stabbings;

·       A few days later, in Notting Hill (West London) gangs of 300-400 white men armed with chains, iron bars, knives and petrol bombs attacked local black people and their homes.

·       These Notting Hill Race Riots 1958 were sparked by a Teddy Boy attack on a white woman who had a black partner.

·       The riots lasted two weeks. 140 were arrested, but there were complaints that the police had been too slow to react to black appeals for help, and that the police had been too eager to say that racism hadn’t caused the riots.

·       The Notting Hill riots were a turning point. Afterwards, 3% of the total immigrant population returned to the Caribbean. Caribbean governments made official complaints to the British government about poor housing and prejudiced policing.

·        The Notting Hill Carnival was also founded in 1959 to promote racial harmony. It still takes place annually.

How did government policies on immigration change in the 1960s?

The 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act

§  This stated that only immigrants with jobs waiting for them or those possessing certain skills would be allowed into Britain.

§  Immigrants had to apply for a voucher, which would only be issued if they could offer skills that were needed in Britain. The number of vouchers was limited each year to about 9,000.

§  The Act did not apply to Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Why did the situation get worse in the late 1960s?

§  In 1967 the National Front, a racist party that wanted immigrants to be sent back to their original countries was set up.

§  President Kenyatta ordered all Kenyan Asians to take Kenyan nationality or leave the country. Many left and came to Britain.

The 1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act

§  In response the British government passed the 1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act.

§  This stated that immigrants must have some close connection with Britain. Close connection meant that the immigrant must have been born in Britain or have a parent or grandparent who had.

§  The Act also restricted the number of vouchers to no more than 1,500 each year.

§  By the late 1960s immigration had become a major political issue.

§  Opinion polls showed that about 80% of people believed that too many immigrants had been allowed into Britain

The 1971 Immigration Act

§  This created a new class of immigrants called ‘Patrials’. These were people who had been born in Britain, or who had lived in Britain for more than five years, or whose parents or grandparents had been born in Britain.

§  Anyone else, whether they came from the Commonwealth or not, needed a work permit.

§  All Commonwealth citizens now needed work permits or visas to come to Britain, unless they were Patrials.

§  70,000 Asians from Uganda were admitted from 1972, when President Amin ordered all Ugandan Asians to leave the country

Why did government policies on immigration change in the 1960s and 1970s?

§  From the late 1950s and early 1960s the number of immigrants coming to Britain rose very rapidly.

§  From 1955 to 1961 400,000 people came to Britain from the West Indies, India and Pakistan.

§  Extra labour was not needed because most of the jobs in the National Health Service and transport had been filled.

§  By 1960 many families were arriving, and men who had arrived in the early fifties were bringing their families over to join them. This meant that immigrants were becoming permanent settlers.

§  By the early 1960s the British economy was beginning to slow down and unemployment was rising.

§  By the early 1960s it was obvious that immigration had led to severe racial tension. The British government believed that it could reduce racial tension by placing limits on the number of immigrants allowed into Britain each year.

How did the British government try to reduce racial tension?

§  In 1965 the Race Relations Act banned discrimination in all public places, such as pubs, clubs and dancehalls.

§  It became illegal to publish anything, which incited racial hatred.

§  The Act set up a Race Relations Board in 1966, which dealt with complaints. But this had no power to enforce its decisions and was made up almost entirely of white people

§  In 1968 a second Race Relations Act banned discrimination in housing, work or training. It also banned racist adverts.

§  But landlords could easily say that a house or room had already been rented and there was almost no way to prove otherwise. Employers could always find plenty of reasons for not giving jobs to immigrants.

§  This Act also set up a Community Relations Commission to try to improve race relations.

§  In 1976 the Racial Equality Act banned all attempts to discriminate by indirect means. Abusive or threatening language became illegal.

§  Anyone who felt that they had been the victim of such discrimination could take their complaint to a tribunal.

§  Local authorities had to improve race relations and opportunities for immigrants.

§  The Act set up the Commission for Racial Equality, which could take up cases of discrimination. It had the power to serve legal notices on offenders.

Opposition to Immigration

Enoch Powell’s Rivers of Blood speech (1968)

 In 1968, Conservative MP and Shadow Defence Secretary Enoch Powell made what became known as the Rivers of Blood speech. In this speech he warned that immigration was getting out of hand, and that if it continued unchecked there would be inter-racial violence.

The Conservative Party leader, Edward Heath, sacked Powell from the Shadow Cabinet. Powell never held a senior government position again. Among the British public, however, there was considerable support for Powell. A petition against his sacking gathered over 30,000 signatures. Opinion polls suggested that 75% of the British public agreed with his speech.

Women

Interwar years - political advancement	·       1918 ROPA - vote extended to women over the age of 30 ·       1928 extended to all women - after various campaigners (like the NUSEC) put pressure on MPs (NUSEC organised demonstration in Hyde Park in 1926 - 3000 attended) ·       ROPA led to little political advancement, o   1918 election only 17 women stood as candidates and only 1, Countess Constance MArkievicz, won o   highest number of female MPs was 15 in 1931 ·       Women’s groups become split over feminist issues (equality with men on men’s terms of equal valuation of female roles?) - and membership fell in 30s ·       This was because Party’s did not want to risk a female candidate in a self-seats (reflects ingrained sexism and male bias in society ·       Women contributed to 1922 Criminal Law and 1923 Bastardy Act
New job opportunities after WW2	·       More jobs due to WW2 o   Jobs in traditionally male work (replacing men fighting the war) o   Queen Elizabeth worked as a car mechanic o   Percentage of women who worked as engineers, in transport or the chemical industry rose from 14% in 1939 to 33% in 1945 ·       WW2 triggers desires and aspirations beyond the home o   1950 Manchester Guardian 50% of housewives report being bored ·       Some women forced out of work after WW2, but change is more permanent than WW1 o   1951 ¼ of married women worked, by 1971 ½ did ·       More semi-skilled and unskilled jobs due to shifts in the Labour market - easier for women to work - 1965 60% of working women do unskilled work
Post war political representation	·       Little representation in Parliament - only 23 female MPs in 1974 ·       Female MPs often exceptionally talented due to having to overcome large opposition to get in Parliament ·       Barbara Castle - Equal Pay Act
Welfare State	·       Family Allowance Act - Eleanor Rathbone insured payments went to the mother ·       NHS - free healthcare for women (who had previously been last in line for healthcare - 1911 Insurance Act insured workers but not their wives) ·       1961 pill introduced - made available on the NHS in 1967, 1 million using by 1967 - gave women greater control & sexual freedom ·       Improved midwifery - death during birth fall from 1 per 1000 in 1945 to 0.18 per 1000 in 1963 ·       HOWEVER - 1946 National Insurance Act classed non-working wives as ‘dependants’ - they could not claim unemployment benefit
Liberal Legislation	·       1967 Abortion Act - women can access abortions - BUT debate focused on dangers of ‘back street’ abortions (caused 40 deaths in 1966) rather than women’s rights ·       1969 Divorce Reform Act - made divorce easier, no longer necessary to prove a ‘fault’ in the marriage, can divorce after 2 years due to ‘irreconcilable differences’ , or 5 if only one party wants the divorce ·       Rate of divorce increases from 3 in 1000 marriages in 1965 to 10 in 1000 marriages by 1976