Lecture 9 – Immigration, Race and Ethnicity

Question 1

What factors shaped responses to immigrant groups over the course of the century?

Answer 1

• Amongst the general public

- Amongst politicians/government?

Question 2

Immigration, race and ethnicity

Answer 2

– all contentious concerns, race used in 19th C
– biological characteristics much more deterministic in the beginning of the century than those at the end of the century would accept.
- Immigration term used to signify those that came to the country.

Question 3

Who were the immigrants?

Refugees:

Answer 3

• Immigration tends to be thought of in popular memory as post 1945 phenomenon – yet this is incorrect theory
• 20th C began significant population of Jewish immigrants in the East end of London
• Refugees = Eastern European Jews, 1880s onwards – came to London in large numbers and were aware of themselves as culturally different thus created own shops and newspapers
• Many came to Britain fleeing war and persecution
• Belgian workers came as a result of the war
• European refugees from fascism in the 1930s and 1940s
• Hungarian refugees, 1956 – in wake of failed Hungarian uprising
• Asylum seekers – language changed

Question 4

Who were the immigrants?

Economic Migrants:

Answer 4

• Irish immigration – throughout the 20th C, particularly resident in Liverpool and Glasgow. Seen in influence of Glasgow football teams e.g. Celtic
• Other European nationalities – e.g. Italian born immigrants such as expanding ice cream parlours
• Small black population in port towns – often tended to work in shipping such as Liverpool, London and Bristol

Question 5

Who were the immigrants?

WW2 and after:

Answer 5

• Eastern Europeans – stayed in Britain following the war influx of Polish immigrants towards end of the century with lifting of border controls
• New commonwealth countries – war huge catalyst – 10,000 west Indians recruited for the RAF as ground crew and after the war followed large movement of those from Caribbean
• Windrush = first immigrant ship to arrive in 1948
• 1950s – 20,000 immigrants from Caribbean arriving annually – tried to recruit immigrants for jobs
• Immigrants came from new commonwealth countries such as the West Indians, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Parts of Africa, Far East such as Hong Kong after returned by China in 1997
• Irish immigration increased
• Immigration involved different people and different times all due to differing reasons

Question 6

Response to immigrant groups: amongst British public

Answer 6

• Governments act with one eye on public opinion suggesting public opinion influences political rhetoric
• Britain didn’t live up to self-image of tolerate society when it came to immigration
• London saw anti-alien meetings – organised by Groups such as British Brothers League – opposed influx of Jewish people in to the East End of London – called for great public demonstration to oppose immigration – at its peak League claimed to have 45,000 members
• Hostility towards Jewish population continued in interwar years – British Union of Fascists – Oswald Mosley and supporters
• Other ethnic groups also faced hostility – Germans and Italians throughout WW2s
• Most notorious violence came after the second world war – sporadic attacks on Black men in the 1980s – seen as race riots

Question 7

Reasons for hostility:

Economic –

Answer 7

• Immigrants long been perceived by indigenous population as being competitors for jobs, houses and welfare – common trope across time and cultures
• Often as immigrants came from less prosperous societies immigrants prepared to work longer hours
• Prejudices against ethnic minority groups as takers of jobs and takers of benefits continued throughout the century
• Hostilities mainly focussed on working class immigrants – problem as much about poverty as it was ethnicity
• Lord Scarman – report into Brixton riots in 1981 – argued “if there was full employment, the racial aspect of inner city problems would not loom large” – made reference to the presses responsibility in bringing about hate

Question 8

Reasons for hostility:

Press

Answer 8

• Impacted people’s perceptions about immigrants
• E.g. Daily Express – ignite hate with front page headlines
• Press hysteria about bogus asylum seekers, immigrants swamping British life
• 1911 – Evening Standard and the “Problem of the Alien”

Question 9

Reasons for hostility:

Fears of crime

Answer 9

• Related to press
• Issues around immigration inspired fears of a crime wave throughout the century
• Enoch Powell – conservative MP for Wolverhampton – series of speeches stressing dangers of immigration – Rivers of Blood Speech – garner considerable public support
• Reactions of police force – Scarman Report, 1981 – rejected idea that the police were an “institutionally racial force” suggesting instead some MET members had not “adjusted to the problems of policing a multi-racial community”
• Judgement overturned by Macpherson Report in 1999 whereby the Metropolitan police force were seen to be “institutionally racist”

Question 10

Reasons for hostility:

Cultural differences

Answer 10

• Public hostility based around cultural differences – accentuated by ghettoization – immigrants tended to situate where there was employment
• Discrimination by employers kept workers of immigrant backgrounds in to lower wages meaning they were forced into concentrated areas in city

Question 11

Reasons for hostility:

Racism

Answer 11

• Immigrant synominous in popular mind as being associated with black immigrants
• Ran through extremist parties such as the National Front – stressed need of British stock and terminating non-white population

Question 12

Reasons for hostility:

Varied due to time/place

Answer 12

• Degree of hostility and reasons for it changed across time and place

Question 13

Response to immigrant groups: amongst government

Answer 13

• Throughout 20th C – government aware that immigration contributed hugely to economic growth – vast majority are law abiding of whichever community they become part of
• 1903 – Royal Commission on Alien Immigration – “law abiding as the natives”
• Additional workers needed after WW2 particularly in unskilled jobs thus enthusiastically drew on immigration as a source of labour
• British Nationality Act, 1948: UK citizenship granted to all Commonwealth citizens and recognised their right to work and settle in the UK
• Wider commitment to empire and nostalgia for empire – particularly to the right of the political spectrum – key to maintain hospitality for those in the empire
• Late 1940s to early 1960s – period of open doors policy with regard to immigration
• Governments made attempts to improve position of immigrants e.g. Race Relations Acts in 1965, 1968, 1976
• Multiculturalism buzz word in political circles e.g. Blair

Question 14

BUT: government not universally welcome to immigrants

Answer 14

• Government often hostile towards immigration
• 1905 Aliens Act – response to Eastern European Jewish immigration – immigration controls imposed at peace time – first time in history
• Politicians wary of imposing restrictions on old commonwealth e.g. the white commonwealth
• After 1962 – controls rigorously adopted to prevent new commonwealth immigration e.g. 1962 Commonwealth Immigration Act – meant needed work vouchers
• 1968 Second Commonwealth Immigration Act
• 1971 Immigration Act – work permit for potential immigrants
• 1981 and 1984 Nationality Act – restricted British citizenship
• Aware of public perceptions – linked to increasingly violent response to immigration fuelling debates about harmony of natives and immigrants
• Political classes universally white and male
• 1997 – last election of 20th C – 5% of nation accounted as coming from ethnic minority groups
• Political hostility towards immigration traditionally came from Conservative party
• Richard Crossman: “ever since the Smethwick election it has been quite clear that immigration can be the greatest political vote loser for the labour party”
• Wary of immigration and how to control immigration

Question 15

Conclusion:

Answer 15

• Immigration a prevalent issue daily
• Immigration important as affected notions of British nationality
• Ties in with links to empire – what did it mean to be British?
• Shifts in approach to immigration as a result of the demise of the British empire
• Immigration and emigration affected British society throughout the 20th C
• Immigration wasn’t just about black and Asian immigration – white immigration also phenomenon
• Complexity of issues – throughout century amongst government and public – recognise best of immigrants v demonising immigrants – which narrative is dominant depends on immigrant groups at the time and place