Post-war Commonwealth Immigration 1948-2010

What was the 19** Nationality Act?

1948

Affirmed the legal right of Commonwealth citizens to settle in the UK

What was the 19** United Nations Declaration of Human Rights?

1948

States that 'everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution'

Was the arrival of 'Empire Windrush' expected?

The arrival was shadowed by a British warship and the minister of labour (George Isaac's) said that he hopes "no encouragement will be given to others to follow them"

How many black immigrants had come to the UK by 1960?

100,000

What sort of work did black immigrants do?

Key public services e.g., nurses and bus conductors. Many also worked in factories

Describe 4 examples of discrimination/persecution faced by black immigrants in this period?

1) 11 Labour MPs wrote to the PM: "An influx of coloured people... is likely to impair the harmony, strength, and cohesion of our public"

2) Organised attacks on West Indian seamen 2 months after Windrush arrived

3) Darcus Howe was told not to walk at night or he might "face arrest by the police and a beating by White racists"

4) Notices saying 'No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish'

In which areas did most immigrants settle in London and Manchester and why?

Tottenham and Paddington (London)

Moss Side (Manchester)

Rents were cheap, but also for safety and security as most of them lived in these run-down areas

What happened to Britain's economy by the end of the 1950s?

It was declining so there was stiff competition for jobs. Immigrants were often blamed for the fact that migrant labour was no longer needed in such large numbers

What effect did this have on immigrants? (2 examples)

1) 1958 - Riots in Nottingham, starting with an attack on a white woman and black man in a pub

2) A gang beat up 5 black men with metal bars, causing serious injury in Notting Hill

How did some politicians and the press stir up anti-immigrant feeling?

The 'Daily Sketch' said: "For years the White people have been tolerant. Now their tempers are up." Labour MP Maurice Eldeman wrote for the 'Daily Mail' headlined, 'Should we let them keep pouring in?'

Describe 2 example of white and black communities coming together against racism?

1) The Kelso Cochrane murder

2) The Bristol Bus Boycott

What happened to Kelso Cochrane?

Cochrane, a 32 yro Antiguan, was walking home from the hospital after fracturing his thumb. He was attacked by a white gang and stabbed to death. Over 1,000 people, white and black, lined the streets for his funeral

What was a 'colour bar'?

People of colour being denied jobs due to their race

When was the Bristol Bus Boycott?

1963

Why did the Bristol Bus Boycott happen?

Two black bus drivers applied for jobs with the bus company but they were turned away because of their colour. They decided to campaign for people to boycott Bristol buses and contacted the PM (Harold Wilson)

What was the 19** Race Relations Act?

1965

Made some forms of racial discrimination illegal

What was the 19** Commonwealth Immigrant Act?

1962

Members of the commonwealth had the right to come and live and work in the UK. They had to apply for a limited amount of employment vouchers which were for skilled work

Why did many people emigrate the UK during the decades after the war?

Emigrating to seek better lives, particularly in USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

What did the RCP recommend in 1949

The Royal Commission on Population recommended that the UK should take in 140,000 young adults to prevent a decline in population

Who were the National Front group when were they formed, and what did they want?

A racist, neo-fascist party launched in 1966 calling for mass deportation

Who was Enoch Powell?

A senior conservative calling for immigration to be stopped

"We must be mad... as a nation to be permitting the annual influx of some 50,000 dependents" (his speech in Birmingham)

What was the impact of Powell's speech?

There were marches supporting him and a survey by the 'New Society' found that 75% of British people thought that there were too many 'coloured' immigrants

Describe the terms of the 19** Commonwealth Immigrants Act (the 2nd one)?

1968

It banned entry to anyone without a father or grandfather born in the UK, designed to stop the influx from Kenya

What was a 'patrial'?

People with British-born parents or grandparents

What was the Southall Youth Movement?

An organisation set up after the murder of Sikh, Gurdp Chagger

Who was Altab Ali?

A young Bangladeshi boy murdered in East London in 1978 by members of the National Front

What is RAR?

Rock Against Racism founded in 1978, by activists who sought to combat racism through music

Why was 1981 a year of crisis?

The start of the Thatcher era saw high levels of unemployment (70% rise in unemployment) and unrest in major British cities e.g., Brixton riots

What was the cause of the Brixton riots?

1981, an arson attack killed 13 black children in South London during a birthday party. No one was indicted and the families are still campaigning for justice. Therefore, there were serious riots in April of that year

What was Operation Swamp 81?

When the police stopped and searched 943 people in 5 days in Brixton.

What were 'SUS' laws?

Attempts by the police to combat crime in areas of rioting, these were the early stop and search laws, based on whether someone looked suspicious s

What was racial tension exacerbated by?

Economic crisis, recession and high unemployment

What was the S******* Agreement?

Schengen Agreement - 1985

Created open bordes, meaning anyone who managed to enter a S or E European country could then travel easily across the continent

What was the Newham Monitoring Project?

Civil rights group that organised legal defence for young people they believed had been wrongly arrested for confronting racist attackers

What was the United Friends and Families Campaign?

They brought together loved ones, the families, and supporters of victims, e.g., the campaign for Stephen Lawrence

According to the 2011 census, how much had the UK population grown?

3.7 million in 10 years

What were the 3 reasons the UK population was rapidly rising?

1) People were living longer

2) The birth rate was rising

3) The EU's Free Movement of People (main reason)

What were the main reasons people supported free movement? (3)

1) Employers can find workers they need to make their businesses grow

2) Increased shopping makes the country richer and creates more jobs

3) Migrants were doing low paid jobs that powered the economy and kept inflation low

What were the main reasons people did not support free movement? (2)

1) Many felt the new immigrants were undercutting their wages

2) Pressure was being put on housing, schools, and housing

What is UKIP?

A right-wing political party that wanted stricter immigration controls. Their popularity increased and in 2009, they came second in the European elections

Give an example of immigration having a positive impact on the economy

Immigration had contributed to £6 billion to the UK economy in 2007

Why was there such a large percentage of settled asylum seekers in the 90s-2000s? (3)

1) Large numbers were forced to flee violent civil wars e.g., Somalia

2) There was foreign intervention in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya etc

3) While countries like Germany and France would grant asylum only to those at risk from their governments, Britain also accepted people at risk from others e.g., ethnic/religious groups

What were the 2 main reasons there was growing feeling against asylum seekers?

1) National newspapers and media

2) Rise of the British National Party (BNP)

What was the spewed propaganda against asylum seekers?

The influx was referred to as a migrant 'invasion'.

Also the media suggested that they were only here to seek benefits, despite their being a law that the benefit system was closed to asylum seekers

When were the 2 Asylum and Immigration Acts?

1993, 1999

What was the 1993 Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act?

It made the definition of who could be accepted as a refugee much narrower

What was the 1999 Asylum and Immigration Act?

It replaced welfare benefit for asylum seekers with vouchers to buy food and essentials. They were forced to only buy only in certain shops and the amount given each week was barely enough to live on

What was the 20** Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act?

2002

Al those wanting leave to remain, or naturalisation as citizens, had to pass a 'Life in the United Kingdom' test

What were the main reasons asylum seekers chose the UK? (4)

1) They could speak English

2) They had family members already living there

3) There were links between their home country and Britain from colonial time

4) They believed that Britain was safe and stable

Where were many asylum seekers taken when they arrived?

Many were held in 40 detention centres

What hardships did the asylum seekers face if not put into detention centres? (4)

1) They were put into undesirable 'hard to let' accommodation

2) They were not allowed to work legally

3) Sometimes tensions between poor working-class neighbours

4) Sexual violence against women (>1/5 of women)

Give an example of asylum seekers being welcomed in England?

In Wigan (1999) youth workers ran sessions to educate people why Kosovan refugees were coming to the UK. They also organised joint activities and sports

What was the 'War on Terror'?

Joining the USA in an invasion of Iraq, mailing aiming to remove weapons of mass destruction

What happened in London as a result of the 'War on Terror'?

7th July 2005

4 suicide bombers killed 52 and injured 700

What happened as a result of the suicide bombings?

Rise in Islamophobic incidents e.g., a Muslim man in Nottingham was beaten to death by a gang shouting anti-Islamic abuse at him

At least 15 other murders + arson attacks on mosques over the following 5 years