Immigrants in the UK - 50s/90s

Thèmes abordés

Immigration immigrants United Kingdom Great Britain Enoch Powell Roy Jenkins racism

Résumé du document

Before the fifties, immigration was not a real problem. But with the emergence of the economic crisis, people's anger was transferred to immigrants, who were the target of xenophobia, discrimination and drastic control of entry in Great Britain. However, in contrast to hatred which was exacerbated by some politicians - following Powell's example -, others were hopeful of gathering people from all origins in a united nation.
Is the evolution of behaviors towards immigrants, from the sixties to the nineties, indicative of an improvement?

Extraits

[...] Later, despite the enactment of two Race Relations Acts which blamed racial discriminations, the latter existed, in a more concealed manner, into the sphere of the work and employment: numbers bear witness to employers reservations ("while unemployment among white people is running at eight per cent, among ethnic minorities it is 15 per cent"). Here is the stating of a racist opinion. "They're still being knocked back by racism". Racial prejudice: Another way of racism seems to be unchanging: most people from all the social stratums ("you expect it from someone like that but you get it in liberal society too") are biased against aliens. Public opinion assimilates foreigners to unskilled and uneducated people, or even to guilty party chosen in advance. [...]

[...] Before the fifties, immigration was not a real problem. But with the emergence of the economic crisis, people's anger was transferred to immigrants, who were the target of xenophobia, discrimination and drastic control of entry in Great Britain. However, in contrast to hatred which was exacerbated by some politicians - following Powell's example others were hopeful of gathering people from all origins in a united nation. Is the evolution of behaviors towards immigrants, from the sixties to the nineties, indicative of an improvement? [...]

[...] Immigrants being successfully: While their ancestors were poor in a majority - they lived in "an inner city" (doc some of the immigrants' descendants are reaching the higher rungs of the career ladders. Their level of studies is increasing, and they are really talented, at least as much as white Britons students - what is paradoxical is that they are better in English. They became more self-confident than their parents, and their abilities at school are acknowledged - even if there is no reply concerning employment. [...]

[...] Actually, they are characterized by a will to defend their cultural specificity, even if it is coupled with xenophobia. The cultural differences may therefore find a political translation. The three features of integration defined by Roy Jenkins seems to have positively evolved since he stated them : black Britons caught up white students at school ("equal opportunity") - in spite of the discriminal employment which tone it down the increasing alliances between white and color people which shows the "tolerance", and the assertion of the differences which guarantees "diversity". [...]

[...] The year 1966 attended to the emergence of national parties, which were strongly fascist. Recently, the election of independent assemblies, where national parties are widely represented (Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and English National Party), predicted the significant influence they would have into British policies. Moreover, their improvement proves that an increasing part of population follows nationalist opinions. Thus, immigrants seem to be dogged by a bad image which appeared in the sixties and which stayed implanted in people's mind. [...]