The real lesson of Enoch Powell’s ‘rivers of blood’ speech

Tomorrow, 20 April, is the 50th anniversary of Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech (Opinion, 16 April). This year, on the same day and in the same room as Powell made his speech, Birmingham will host a meeting celebrating its status as a multicultural city. Powell’s speech was a touchstone for racists and the far right, and is still celebrated by the racist right of today, who say “Enoch was right”. He used his position in mainstream politics to claim that a white woman in his constituency had excrement pushed through her door and was harassed by “grinning piccaninnies”. He said black people would take power in Britain within 20 years and painted a picture of riots and race war. His speech led to a wave of racist attacks. Some claimed Powell was a brave politician, speaking out about the uncomfortable facts of immigration. In reality he was a cynical opportunist attempting to use racism to further his career.

Fifty years on, there is creeping Powellism in the Conservative party. Many who came as children in the Windrush have been persecuted and had their rights removed by the government. Conservatives put out a patently racist leaflet in March warning that Havering would resemble “boroughs like Hackney, Newham, Camden and Barking rather than a traditional part of Essex” if people failed to vote Tory. We’ve also seen the leader of Ukip, Gerard Batten, sharing platforms with the Islamophobic Democratic Football Lads Alliance (DFLA).

It is crucial that we draw the real lesson of Powell’s speech: that racism must be kept out of our society and elections.
Kate Osamor MP, Preet Kaur Gill MP, Claude Moraes MEP, Rabbi Lee Wax, Kevin Courtney NEU joint general secretary, Sally Hunt UCU general secretary, Ronnie Draper BFAWU general secretary, Tony Kearns CWU senior deputy general secretary, Talha Ahmad, Weyman Bennett and Sabby Dhalu Stand up to Racism co-conveners

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