Windrush at 76: from Swamped to Hostile Environment to Invasion. Migrants are welcome,racists are not

Windrush at 76:  Thatcher’s Swamped to Theresa May’s Hostile
Environment to Suella Braverman’s invasion. Migrants remain welcome here

With the 76^th anniversary of the arrival of the first of the
Windrush generation in Britain its again time to celebrate the positive impact
migrants have had and also to underline that migrants continue to be welcome
here.

When Enoch Powell made his rivers of blood speech in 1968 he was a senior
Tory MP who found himself with no future in the party. This was the tail end of
a period when the Government was welcoming migrants to fill, mostly badly paid,
gaps in the labour force.

After the oil focused economic crisis of 1973 matters began to change. The
racism inherent in much Tory politics began to be more openly displayed.

In the mid-1970s organised fascists regrouped around the National Front. It
had some electoral success but also engaged in a series of highly provocative
street marches in inner-city locations such as Lewisham and Wood Green. The NF
was opposed by the Anti-Nazi League, Rock Against Racism and others and made
little impact at the next Election

Before that 1979 General Election Tory leader Margaret Thatcher made a
speech claiming that people felt ‘swamped’ by those of a ‘different culture’.

There was a discussion on the left as to how far street opposition to the
fascists had achieved their demise compared to Margaret Thatcher’s promotion of
State institutional racism, underlining that racists could feel comfortable
both with voting Tory and the actions of a Tory Government.

Fast Forward several decades and the policy of former Tory Prime Minister
Theresa May, architect, when she was Home Secretary, of the hostile environment
towards ethnic minorities. It was a policy which led directly to the abuse of
numbers of the Windrush generation, rightfully in the UK, but harassed by the
authorities.

Those who had arrived without complete paperwork in the 1960s found
themselves targeted for potential and sometimes actual deportation, splitting
them from families who had been born in the UK. This example of institutional
racism went in parallel with the rise of the English Defence League, identified
with the fascist Stephen Yaxley Lennon. Again their trademarks were street
marches and general thuggery. Again they found themselves opposed by
anti-racists such as Stand Up to Racism and eventually like the National Front
before them fell apart.

Former Tory Home Secretary Suella Braverman talked the language of the far
and fascist right about an ‘invasion’ of migrants into Southern England.

Now former Tory Home Secretary Suella Braverman is talking the language of
the far and fascist right about an ‘invasion’ of migrants into Southern
England.

Braverman is a hard right Tory politician and the language is designed to
provoke and stir racist sentiment.

With an Election on July 4^th we find few politicians who are
willing to campaign on migrants being welcome and the important role they have
played in British society over the centuries. Indeed one of their number. loud
mouthed racist Farage is intent on weaponizing the issue further.

One reason why its important to mark Windrush Day and to keep on doing so.