RACIAL PROBLEMS IN U.K.

There have been many waves of immigration into Britain. In order to escape religious or political persecution, during the centuries many people from Italy, Germany, Poland and other European countries and also Jews came to Britain, because of its long tradition of accepting refugees.

In the 50s and 60s other immigrants (Chinese, Greeks, Italians, and Turkish Cypriots)  entered the country to seek jobs and better ways of life.

After 1945, as a consequence of U.K.’s imperial past, citizens from the Commonwealth’s countries had free entry into Britain as they were told they were British subjects for generations and were encouraged to come and take jobs which had been considered inconvenient for the British.

The immigrants number became higher  and higher and tension started in on. In1961 a racial movement arose. The event was called Powellism, from its leader Enoch Powell. This man directed a campaign against non-white immigrants painting them as a scapegoat for most British problems.

Reactions against immigrants arose again in the 70s because of rising unemployment, inflation and low productivity and the Skinheads appeared. They supported the National Front and upheld the idea that coloured people are ignorant, lazy, dirty, slow at learning things, difficult to be understood and incapable of understanding because of their bad English. As a result the immigration Act of 1971 restricted entry to the country even further than what the Government decided on restriction  in 1962: immigrants could be admitted only if they had documents proving they had a job waiting for them.

Nowadays, even if deep enmity seems to have gone along with significant popular support for legislation against racial discrimination, conflicts occasionally arise especially in the greatest industrial areas, where immigrants are amassed and where youth unemployment is a serious problem .

 

 

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