Rising tensions

As the UK economy picked up and then boomed in the late 1950s and 1960s, migrants from India, East and West Pakistan, Nigeria, Ghana, Cyprus and many otherCommonwealth countries came to work in the textile factories of the North of England and the engineering factories of the Midlands. As a result, Britain’s cities became increasingly multicultural. However, as this was also a period of large-scaleemigration of Britons leaving to live elsewhere (such as the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), the number of people leaving the country was higher than the number coming in.

The 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act, which aimed to restrict numbers, set up a voucher system for those entering the UK to work. However, the law backfired. Many men who were working here at the time had intended to return to their families in the long-term, but when they realised that they may not be readmitted if they left the UK, they brought their families to join them and decided to settle permanently in the UK instead. The 1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act restricted entry only to those with a father or grandfather born in the UK.

When Asianrefugees who had been expelled from East Africa arrived in the UK, they were met with hostility from sections of the press and protests organised by anti-immigration groups. The most prominent of which was theNational Front, which wanted to ban all non-white immigration. They were, however, allowed entry.

Two speeches criticising levels of immigration by leading politicians - Enoch Powell in 1968 and Margaret Thatcher in 1978 - had the effect of polarising public opinion, with a rise in the numbers expressing anti-immigrant views.

During the same period, laws were passed to prevent racial discrimination andracist hate crimes and to promote better community relations.

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