Racism in Great Britain

After the end of the Second World War, immigrants were needed in England as labour for the reconstruction of the country.

While European immigrants were preferred (e.g., from Germany), many workers and their families from the New Commonwealth were also attracted by the possibility of making a good living in Great Britain.

Immigrants were attracted to Britain because legislation favoured their entry and because of the legal restrictions to enter the USA.

The first important group of Afro-Caribbean people came to Britain after the Second World War aboard the Empire Windrush, and could easily enter thanks to the British Nationality Act of 1948.

Although they did have equal rights to British citizens, new arrivals from the Commonwealth faced prejudice and abuse. They complained about "coloured" immigration because many were denied employment, housing, and even turned away from churches, pubs and dancehalls.

Some New Commonwealth immigrants without accommodation were temporarily housed by the government in an air-raid shelter 15 storeys underground.

Although at first, black immigrants were welcomed in Britain, with time, the majority of British people thought that Britain should be kept white and that too many immigrants had entered the country.

Anti-immigrant feelings in Great Britain led to the passing of laws restricting the entry of Black Britons.

Due to a perceived “heavy influx of immigrants”, the British government passed the first Commonwealth Immigrants Act in 1962, banning the future right of entry previously enjoyed by citizens of the Commonwealth, which many considered a direct bar on people of colour.

At first, Labour fiercely opposed Commonwealth immigration controls but, once in office, it was forced to reconsider and ended up contributing to restriction on entry.

Several Race Relations Acts (1965, 1968, 1976 and 2000) have attempted to eliminate discrimination in various areas and have tried to enforce the principle of racial equality.

The percentages of Black Britons reporting racial discrimination have grown by more than 10 points since the Brexit referendum.