1951-61: Attitudes to immigration and racial violence Flashcards
What was the New Commonwealth?
Coloured immigrants (e.g. pakistan, west indies) who followed in the wake of West Indian migrants who arrived on the ‘Empire Windrush’ in 1948.
What did the Windrush become a symbol of?
A new wave of Afro-Carribean immigration into Britain.
What had happened by 1958?
About 210,000 Commonwealth immigrants had settled in Britain. 75% were male, working to support families back home. Largest number came from West Indies.
Why were public attitudes to immigration mixed?
- for some there was a general feeling of tolerance and ‘getting along’.
- but many examples of racism from host communities and instances of friction and resentment against immigrants.
As well as immigration what else was there a considerable amount of?
Outward migration from Britain. In the 1950s, Australia was particularly keen to attract new citizens, offering assisted passages to help with jobs and housing. Also steady flow of emigration to North America.
Give a stat comparing immigration and emigration in the 1950s.
Britain received a total of 676,000 immigrants seeking permanent residence, while 1.32 million Britons left for a new life abroad.
Give a stat comparing immigration and emigration in the 1960s.
The total inward migration was 1.25 million and outward migration was 1.92 million.
What did the authorities regard immigration as?
Economically desirable (immigrants filled many important low-wage jobs) and hoped that social tensions would ease.
What happened in August 1958?
Gangs of white youths in Nottingham went on ‘nigger hunts’ after pub brawls.
What else happened in 1958?
The Notting Hill riots broke out.
Who was the leader of British fascism and what did he try to use the Notting Hill riots for?
Oswald Mosley, who tried to use the issue by standing as the Union Movement candidate in the 1959 election for Kensington North (including Notting Hill) on a platform of repatriation.
What did this racial violence do?
It brought to national attention a problem that many politicians would have preferred to leave alone.
What happened in 1962?
The Commonwealth Immigrants act was passed - had been a reluctance to use legislation to control immigration from other countries with close historic links to Britain.
What was the Labour Party’s view on the 1962 Act?
They strongly opposed it, but did not repeal it after the 1964 election. Government and local communities muddled along towards a multicultural society without any clear sense of direction.
