Differences, Barriers and Minority Ethnic Groups

Abstract

Following the British Nationality Act of 1948 (which enabled citizens of the Commonwealth to work in Britain without a visa), the majority of UK immigrants came from the Caribbean (for example, Jamaica), Indian subcontinent (for example, India, Pakistan or Bangladesh) and South East Asia (for example, Hong Kong). This post-war mass migration, which was driven by labor shortages in Britain, gave rise to the symbolic term ‘the Windrush Generation’, named after the HMT Empire Windrush which carried ex-servicemen from the Caribbean to London, and was the theme of the controversial ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech made by Conservative MP Enoch Powell in 1968, warning about the impact of immigration and diversity. Since the 1960s, immigration laws have gradually tightened. The Commonwealth Immigrants Acts of 1962 required migrants to have secured a job or to possess particular skillsets before arrival. The updated versions in 1968 and the Immigrations Act 1971 also required migrants to have a work permit or to have a parent or grandparent who had been born in Britain if they themselves were not (see legislation.gov.uk). Immigration levels were steady until New Labour took government in 1997, and relaxed the rules around family reunion as net immigration substantially increased (Blinder, 2015).