Abstract
This article exploits the developing political science literature on rhetorical political analysis (RPA) and applies it to one of the most controversial speeches of the post-war era in British politics. Alongside an analysis of the roots and impact of Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech the article deconstructs Powell’s rhetoric and oratory. In doing so the article moves beyond the traditional modes of analysing the speech, which focus on the reproduction of ‘new racisms’ and that are prevalent within the sociological and social psychology academic literature. By using RPA the article considers the speech through the use of the rhetorical techniques of persuasion (i) appeals to ethos – that is, the persona of the speaker; (ii) pathos – that is, the range of emotions evoked; (iii) or logos – that is, the evidence that supports the arguments underpinning the speech. This type of analysis showcases how and why Powell’s speech made such an impact when just as inflammatory comments had been uttered by other Conservatives before 1968.
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Notes
There are a raft of biographies on Powell (see for example, Foot, 1969; Smithies and Fiddick, 1969; Stacey, 1970; Roth, 1970, Cosgrave, 1989; Shepherd, 1996; Heffer, 1998; Schofield, 2013).
The Sikh bus drivers’ strike was prompted by the sacking of a driver who violated a rule prohibiting the wearing of beards. As a consequence a major outpouring of support took place in Wolverhampton that was supported by over 5000 Sikhs (Brooke, 2007, p. 681). This became a lengthy campaign for a change to the rules that would enable Sikhs to wear beards in line with their cultural heritage. However it attracted Powell’s attention, who argued ‘To claim special communal rights (or should one say rites?) leads to a dangerous fragmentation within society. This communalism is a canker; whether practised by one colour or another it is to be strongly condemned’ (Powell, 1968a). Powell’s use of the strike to illustrate a broader argument over immigration and integration serves to highlight his conception of a monopolistic understanding of British citizenship.
In the 1950s Powell believed that once immigrants entered the country they should be integrated. By the late 1950s he started to argue that integration was dependent upon the numbers entering and thus the need for restrictive controls. After 1965 he decided to stop referring to the feasibility and necessity of integration. See letter from Powell to the Bishop of Lichfield, 26 February 1965, Powell Archives, Churchill College, Cambridge (POL 1/1/11).
Powell did make reference to projected numbers in earlier speeches during the opposition era. In 1966 he suggesting immigrants and their descendents would constitute 5 per cent of the population by 2000 in a speech in Wolverhampton, 25 March 1966, Powell Archives, Churchill College, Cambridge (POL 4/1/12).
The 2001 census showed that the actual figures for non-white and mixed groups was 8.1 per cent and 4.62 million, so the actual figure was below Powell’s lowest estimate, see National Statistics, Census 2001: Key Statistics for Local Authorities in England and Wales (2003).
However, those sympathising with Powell on immigration may not have been aware of his eclectic positions. For example, the predominantly pro-capital punishment electorate would not have shared Powell’s opposition to the death penalty, nor would they have expected that Powell would be sympathetic towards homosexual law reform (see Fry, 1998, pp. 139–147).
Of this claim Mclean notes that: ‘one might also point out that “piccaninnies” in Wolverhampton, by whom Powell, or his correspondent, presumably meant Afro-Caribbean rather than Asian children would have either been born there or have migrated from English-speaking colonies in the Caribbean. Therefore it cannot be true that Wolverhampton piccaninnies did not speak English’ (McLean, 2001, p. 129).
Powell remained unrepentant and delivered a defence of his April speech later that year in Eastbourne on 16 November. Here he reaffirmed his concerns not only over the number of immigrants in Britain, but also the rate of reproduction and the impact it would have upon Britain’s racial makeup. He noted that ‘There are those who argue that the longer the immigrant population is resident in this country, the more closely their birth rate will approximate to that of the indigenous population, and thus, of course, to a rate of increase at which their proportion to the total would remain static’ (Powell, 1968c). The solution he identified courted considerable controversy. He argued that ‘the resettlement of a substantial proportion of the Commonwealth immigrants in Britain is not beyond the resources and abilities of this country’ (Powell, 1968c). Heath was scathing of the speech and described it as a ‘character assassination of one racial group. That way lies tyranny’ (Foot, 1969, p. 121).
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Crines, A., Heppell, T. & Hill, M. Enoch Powell’s ‘rivers of blood’ speech: A rhetorical political analysis. Br Polit 11, 72–94 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2015.13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2015.13