What is that English Politician called who people called acist?
I don’t believe that Enoch Powell himself was a racist. Rather, he cynically used the language of racism in an attempt to further his career and challenge Ted Heath for the Tory leadership. An attempt which backfired on both Powell and his cause very badly, and which he greatly regretted in later life. In fact, if Powell hadn’t given that speech at all, the UK would probably have very much stricter rules on immigration than it does today. The real effect of Powell’s speech was to make immigration a taboo issue, which until recently most politicians have been afraid to address. In a letter to the Wolverhamptom Express and Star in 1972, Powell said “I have and always will set my face like flint against making any difference between one citizen of this country and another on grounds of his origins”. This is certainly not the statement of a racist. It’s worth remembering that the same Enoch Powell who gave the “Rivers of Blood” speech, a few years earlier was positively encouraging immigra
