‘Rivers of blood’ Enoch Powell British Nationality Act (1948) Commonwealth immigration British National Party
On 2 November 2007 the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Halesowen, Nigel Hastilow, wrote a column in his local newspaper that would lead to his resignation within the fortnight. His mistake was to voice his approval of the sentiments expressed by a Conservative MP for a nearby constituency, speaking nearly 40 years previously. Arguing that many of his potential constituents were primarily concerned about immigration, he wrote, ‘Many insist, “Enoch Powell was right.”’ From that moment, his candidacy was doomed. ‘Enoch was right’ is still used by activists on the far right of British politics to justify policies condemned by all the mainstream political parties as racist and potentially violent.
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