Brits rally to prove Powell was wrong

Public response to race issues shows UK at its best

Enoch Powell’s prophecy has failed to come true WE haven’t seen the country at its best in recent weeks.

The Windrush scandal showed how government attempts to appear tough on immigration can ruin lives.

Theresa May, as Home Secretary, introduced what she called a “hostile environment” for illegal immigrants.

But it hit people who were not here illegally – and who were barely immigrants at all.

The Windrush generation may have come to the UK from overseas countries, often in the Caribbean, but they had always been British people.

We’ve also seen Labour facing claims that it’s failing to deal with anti-Jewish racism within the party.

The party has been forced to de-select or suspend candidates that shared racist material on social media.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says there is a problem. But some Labour activists insist reports of racism within the Labour Party are just a “smear”.

And then we’ve had the 50th anniversary of Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech.

Powell predicted that immigration from non-white countries would mean the death of Britain. He said it was “like watching a nation busily engaged in heaping up its own funeral pyre”. And he appeared to predict that the result would be violent conflict. What a horror show! But there’s another side to the story.

In some ways, we’ve also seen the UK at its best – and evidence that Enoch Powell was wrong.

The British public have been appalled at the treatment of the Windrush generation. Theresa May and her colleagues have been widely condemned, and forced to apologise (and many Labour MPs have also faced criticism for abstaining when the relevant legislation was introduced).

People on the left and on the right, from all walks of life, were horrified to hear what had happened.

We’ve seen Labour MPs support Jewish colleagues who have been victims of abuse, and speak out against racism even though they know they may become targets for abuse themselves.

Many left-wing activists, journalists and politicians have faced up to the problem, even though it means admitting the party they support is at fault.

And the anniversary of Powell’s speech was commemorated with anti-racism rallies in the hotel where he delivered it. It’s a reminder that Powell’s prophecies have not come true.