On this day, the British politician, Enoch Powell, made his controversial “Rivers of Blood” speech to a Conservative meeting in Birmingham. Powell’s speech strongly criticised the rates of immigration from the former colonies of the British Empire and opposed the Race Relations Bill which was destined to criminalise the refusal of housing, employment, or public services to persons on the grounds of colour, race, or ethnic or national origin. The speech split the nation, and Edward Heath, the Conservative Party leader, dismissed Powell from the Shadow Cabinet the day after the speech. However, the popularity of Powell’s views on immigration might have been a decisive factor in the Conservative Party’s unexpected victory at the 1970 general election.
