Abstract
During the controversy over her much discussed ‘swamping’ statement in 1978 Margaret Thatcher made it quite clear that she was on the side of those who saw black migrants as swamping British society. When in February 1979 she was asked if she had modified her view on this issue she forcefully restated her basic theme:
Some people have felt swamped by immigrants. They’ve seen the whole character of their neighbourhood change … Of course people can feel that they are being swamped. Small minorities can be absorbed — they can be assets to the majority community — but once a minority in a neighbourhood gets very large, people Do feel swamped. They feel their whole way of life has been changed. (The Observer, 25 February 1979)
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Guide to Further Reading
A number of recent books have looked at various aspects of the local politics of race, the most important being G. Ben-Tovim, et al. (1986). A pioneering work in this area was J. Rex and R. Moore (1967). An analysis of policy change in this field can be found by K. Young (1985). For a critical look at more recent developments see G. Stoker (1988).
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© 1989 John Solomos
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Solomos, J. (1989). Urban Politics and Racial Inequality. In: Race and Racism in Contemporary Britain. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20187-7_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20187-7_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
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