What was the 'rivers of blood' speech?

Question

I was watching a documentary about the 60's and the Beatles on UKTV History before and I heard about this for the first time. What was it?

Also, is it true that a candidate in a general election once had the slogan # of you want a n***er for a neighbout, vote labour#?

sorry about the mistake there, I meant

'if you want .....

Answer 1

Enoch Powell, April 1968 in Birmingham did his Rivers of Blood speech (the same Mr. Powell who sent colleagues over to the West Indies in the early sixties to get nurses to work in Britain).

"Thus in Powell’s early speeches in the House of Commons in the 1950s, his talk was all of free enterprise. In his first 11 years as an MP there was no control on empire or commonwealth immigration into Britain. Theoretically 600 million people could come to the ‘mother country’ and settle here without restraint. Powell could see nothing wrong in that, in theory. When someone raised the matter with him at a meeting in Wolverhampton in 1956, he spoke out against imposing controls on immigration. During the arguments about the first Commonwealth Immigration Control Act in 1960 and 1961 Powell was minister of health. His department sent emissaries to the West Indies to recruit nurses and ancillary workers for the National Health Service. When he fought the 1964 general election, and loyally supported his government’s immigration control acts, he concentrated still on a ‘pure’ capitalist argument which saw no difference in workers with different coloured skins. ‘I have set and always will set my face like flint’, he said in a sudden rush of the portentous rhetoric for which he was famous, ‘against making any difference between one citizen of this country and another on grounds of his origin.’"

Paul Foot


The 'Vote Labour' rant was four years earlier - also in Birmingham (Smethwick)...this time Powell was not the man, but Peter Griffiths, a Tory who eventually won his seat in the 1964 election.

Answer 2

Enoch Powell made the 'rivers of blood' speech. The politician who said the second part of your question was a Conservative politician who won the Smethwick seat. Those things were said when we had free speech in this country.
Enoch Powell was castigated ,but he remained in politics and has been proved right. Incidentally, the slogan WAS a Tory idea.
See Wikipedia.

Answer 3

Like most things zoomed in by Politicians, and picked up and used as indications of intolerance (especailly by thiose on the left) Powell didint actullay use the phrase 'rivers of blood'.

although the speech was demonised by thoise, especaily on the left, at the time it seesm that quite a lot of Powells observations have coem true, or have some merit. in much the same way as happened with Ray Hunniford the bradford headteacher who was demonised by, in particular, the educational establishment as he was agains thte idea that parents should take their children out of schhol for several months to go to Pakistan, he was concerned that schools were becoming ghettoised.

just because someone says something we dont neccesarily like or agree with doesnt mean that they should be shouted down and hounded out of public life. its something politicians on the left seem to forget that in a democracy everyone should have the right to express their opinions, they may be wrong, but discuss that after the event not before.

cant speak for the slogan - it wouldnt surprise me, after all there were plenty of signs on B&B's in LOndon and elsehwere advertising accomodationbut "No Irish & No Blacks"

politicians have always been quick to sloganise in elections - "you only have ndays to save the NHS"
"you only have ndays to save the pound"

Answer 4

the 'rivers of blood speech', labelled so by the media, was made by John Enoch Powell MP on 20 April 1968 saying that some immigrant said to him that in 15 years time the black man would have the whip hand over the white man

like Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill's prophecies, this has largely come true

he also said that mass immigration is like a nation busily heaping up its own funeral pyre

unfortunately both are now dead

J Enoch Powell is remembered solely for that speech - however he served 36 years in Parliament (1950-1987)

the candidate who made that statement served as a Conservative MP until the general election of 1997

right now 53% of the electorate are voting Labour or Liberal which are pro immigration parties

the only solution to control and limit migration is to vote Conservative

Answer 5

A speech by Enoch Powell about immigration and race relations The river of blood comes from similar speech by some roman dude who I can't remeber. Worryingly, the more I look in to his words the more they ring true...

Answer 6

like the tiber in rome i see a river of blood aspeach given by theright honourable Enoch powell refering to the vast amounts of afro caribean immigrants in the 60s.The ****** /labour thing was n fact the national front not the tories as some believe .

Answer 7

The only time a British Politician had the balls to speak the utter truth.God Rest Enoch Powell and all he stood for. Find it on the web !

Answer 8

Enoch Powell's Speech on Immigration in the 60's.He was castigated and demoted to a minor position.....Think on

Answer 9

A speech made by Enoch Powell about what he saw would happen in the UK ,people didnt believe him at the time !!!

Answer 10

enoch powell

never heard of that slogan