Enoch Powell's speech, Rivers of Blood, what impact on race relations do you

Question: Enoch Powell's speech, Rivers of Blood, what impact on race relations do you think it had!?!?
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I think it had an enormous impact!. There were many who agreed with what he said and 1000 dockers went out on strike to show their disapproval at the time!.
As a child at the time I remember thinking his words were very strange and provocative!. We were growing up at school with the children of these immigrants and they were our friends!. It was hard for us to see where this tension came from!.
Living in the East End there were also 2nd, 3rd, etc!. generation Jews and other nationalities!. It was a partially excepted phenomenon, or that's the way I was brought up!.
To really understand the concept you have to veiw it from the previous generation who went to war!. Areas like London were still being rebuilt, rationing had only finished a decade before!.

What a lot of people don't realise was the speech was not just about immigration, but a deep seated fear of loosing their cultural identity!.
On the one hand there was still a strong sense of nationalism, on the other we were looking to Europe and America to help rebuild the ecomony!.

I think subconsciuosly a lot of the older British people thought the world would return to some rosy ideal after the war, only to find society had changed dramatically!.

I disagree with much of what he said, but the truth of the matter is he was mirroring the opinions of many at the time!.

What he didn't predict was the rich diversity it added to our culture, especially for the youth growing up at the time!.

My teenage years were completely different to that of my elders for we had the old cultural traditions and lore of our own, like May Poles and Harvest festivals, Halloween and a folk traditon!. We also had Ska, Blue Beat and more exotic food than we could consume!. I couldn't imagine my formative years without either!.

Much of his words showed one picture, but what he didn't see was the bigger scenario!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

'Rivers of blood' was a phrase never used in the speech!. It gave impetus to the Race Relations Act; a well-intentioned but thoroughly pernicious piece of legislation!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It was extremely damaging, in that it cast immigration as primarily a race problem!. We're still suffering the after effects!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Not a lot!. If I remember rightly he was promptly made Minister for Northern Ireland!. Since 'the Troubles' were at their height at the time, maybe somebody hoped he'd get bumped off!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Not enoughWww@QuestionHome@Com

According to C!. Howard Wheeldon, who was present at the meeting where Powell gave the speech, "it is fascinating to note what little hostility emerged from the audience!. To the best of my memory, only one person voiced any sign of annoyance!."[12] The day after the speech Powell went to Sunday Communion at his local church and when he emerged there was a crowd of journalists and a local plasterer (Sidney Miller) said to Powell: "Well done, sir! It needed to be said!."[13] Powell asked the assembled journalists: "Have I really caused such a furore!?" At midday Powell went on the BBC's World This Weekend to defend his speech and he appeared later that day on ITN news!.

The Labour MP Edward Leadbitter said he would refer the speech to the Director of Public Prosecutions!. The Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe spoke of a prima facie case against Powell for incitement!. Baroness Gaitskell called the speech "cowardly" and the cricketer Sir Learie Constantine condemned it!.[14]

The leading Conservatives in the Shadow Cabinet were outraged by the speech!. Iain Macleod, Edward Boyle, Quintin Hogg and Robert Carr all threatened to resign from the front bench unless Powell was sacked!. Margaret Thatcher thought that although some of Powell's speech was "strong meat" she sympathised with his overall message and said to Heath when he telephoned her to inform her Powell was to be sacked: "I really thought that it was better to let things cool down for the present rather than heighten the crisis!." The Conservative leader, Edward Heath, sacked Powell from his post as Shadow Defence Secretary, telling him on the telephone that Sunday evening (it was the last conversation they would have)!. Heath said of the speech in public that it was "racialist in tone and liable to exacerbate racial tensions"!. Conservative MPs on the right of the party—Duncan Sandys, Gerald Nabarro, Teddy Taylor—spoke against Powell's sacking!.[15] On Monday, 22 April Heath went on Panorama, telling Robin Day: "I dismissed Mr!. Powell because I believed his speech was inflammatory and liable to damage race relations!. I am determined to do everything I can to prevent racial problems developing into civil strife!.!.!. I don't believe the great majority of the British people share Mr!. Powell's way of putting his views in his speech!."

On 23 April, 1,000 dockers went on strike in protest at Powell's sacking and marched from the East End to the Palace of Westminster carrying placards saying "Don't knock Enoch" and "Back Britain, not Black Britain"!. 300 of them went into the Palace, 100 to lobby the MP for Stepney, Peter Shore, and 200 to lobby the MP for Poplar, Ian Mikardo!. Shore and Mikardo were shouted down and some dockers kicked Mikardo!. Baroness Gaitskell shouted: "You will have your remedy at the next election!." The dockers replied: "We won't forget!."[16] The organiser of the strike, Harry Pearman, headed a delegation to meet Powell and said after: "I have just met Enoch Powell and it made me feel proud to be an Englishman!. He told me that he felt that if this matter was swept under the rug he would lift the rug and do the same again!. We are representatives of the working man!. We are not racialists!."[17] On 24 April 600 dockers at St Katharine's Docks voted to strike and numerous smaller factories across the country followed!. 600 Smithfield meat porters struck and marched to Westminster and handed Powell a 92-page petition supporting him!. Powell advised against strike action and asked them to write to Harold Wilson, Heath or their MP!. However, strikes continued, reaching Tilbury by 25 April and he received his 30,000th letter supporting him, with 30 protesting against his speech!. By 27 April 4,500 dockers were on strike!. On 28 April, 1,500 people marched to Downing Street chanting "Arrest Enoch Powell"!.[18] Powell received 43,000 letters and 700 telegrams supporting him by early May, with 800 letters and four telegrams against!.[19] On 2 May the Attorney-General, Sir Elwyn Jones, announced he would not prosecute Powell after consulting the Director of Public Prosecutions!.

The Gallup Organization took an opinion poll at the end of April and found that 74% agreed with what Powell had said in his speech; 15% disagreed!. 69% felt Heath was wrong to sack Powell and 20% believed Heath was right!. Before his speech Powell was favoured to replace Heath as Conservative leader by 1%, with Reginald Maudling favoured by 20%; after his speech 24% favoured Powell and 18% Maudling!. 83% now felt immigration should be restricted (75% before the speech) and 65% favoured[clarify] anti-discrimination legislation!.[20]

Powell defended his speech on 4 May through an interview for the Birmingham Post: "What I would take 'racialist' to mean is a person who believes in the inherent inferiority of one race of mankind to another, and who acts and speaks in that belief!. So the answer to the question of whether I am a racialist is 'no'—unless, perhaps, it is to be a racialist in reverse!. I regard many of the peoples in India as being superior in many respects—intellectually, for example, and in other respects—to Europeans!. Perhaps that is over-correcting!."[21]Www@QuestionHome@Com