Enoch Powell

[Harty]

Reading his biog on wikipedia, his 'rivers of blood' speech and the aftermath is believed to have helped Ted Heath win the 1970 general election, and by 1972 he was voted the most popular politician in the country.

Was he 40 years ahead of his time?

And if a member of the Tory shadow cabinet made a simular speech this week would he get the kind of media stick Powell got?

 

[BensGrandad]

Was he 40 years ahead of his time?

Yes very prophetic.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Any shadow cabinet minister coming out with an inflamatory speech wouldn't be in the shadow cabinet the following day.

 

[defrocked priest]

He's my hero.

 

[BensGrandad]

Any shadow cabinet minister coming out with an inflamatory speech wouldn't be in the shadow cabinet the following day.

The country has made everybody so that they have to always be PC.

 

[GNF on Tour]

Reading his biog on wikipedia, his 'rivers of blood' speech and the aftermath is believed to have helped Ted Heath win the 1970 general election, and by 1972 he was voted the most popular politician in the country.

Was he 40 years ahead of his time?

And if a member of the Tory shadow cabinet made a simular speech this week would he get the kind of media stick Powell got?

There is not a single member of the shadow cabinet with the intellectual levels to even come close to the intelligence of Powell. Probably the most misunderstood speech of all time.

 

[IKDRF]

no, but it was his following rather than the man himself who were a problem. he was not a rascist (his love affair with india was evidence of this).

we have the opposite problem with the bnp who attract a following, some of which would be appalled if they knew what this party trully stood for.

 

[Harty]

Any shadow cabinet minister coming out with an inflamatory speech wouldn't be in the shadow cabinet the following day.

But back in the late 1960's when he made the speech he recieved over 100,000 letters and only 19 of them disagreed with him.

 

[northstandnorth]

hart

 

[northstandnorth]

/////

 

[skipper734]

Different time. Till Death Us Part (Alf Garnet) was a programme watched by millions, only three black and white channels mind. ( No pun intended.)
Black & White Minstrels Saturday night top show, and lots more. The World has changed!

 

[clippedgull]

One of the greatest speeches ever in this country.

Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' speech - Telegraph

 

[Boroseagull]

and wasn't it Heath who sacked him as a minister over this issue?

 

[Was not Was]

What inflammatory nonsense.

By Mr Powell, and now Mr Hart.

If it's "political correctness gone mad" that stops people expressing such views now, then thank god for political correctness.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Powell was not being "prophetic". My perspective - as someone living in the West Midlands at the time he made the speech - is that everyone knew what he was doing. He was stirring up racial hatred. People either supported him or they didn't.

He probably has more supporters these days than then.

 

[The Oldman]

I met Enoch when he was Minister of Health. Thought he had a screw loose. Could not understand what he was on about.

 

[Gwylan]

Reading his biog on wikipedia, his 'rivers of blood' speech and the aftermath is believed to have helped Ted Heath win the 1970 general election, and by 1972 he was voted the most popular politician in the country.

Was he 40 years ahead of his time?

And if a member of the Tory shadow cabinet made a simular speech this week would he get the kind of media stick Powell got?

He was scarcely ahead of his time. He said that he saw a spectre of civil unrest "like the Tiber foaming with blood" - but, 42 years after the speech, that simply hasn't happened. There has been remarkably little racial conflict in this country - there have been isolated incidents, but they make the news precisely because they're isolated.

We have black and Asian people in the England football, cricket and rugby teams; as newsreaders; as politicians; within music and the media even as High Court judges - although that's an organisation most resistant to change.
Most of (BNP nutters aside) reject the idea that someone should be deprived of a job because of the colour of his skin.

I don't say everything's perfect, there are underlying tensions in various areas, and some people from various ethnic groups do suffer subtler forms of discrimination but we've had nothing like the wide-scale social unrest that Powell predicted.

As for support for such a speech today. I think that if any member of the shadow cabinet made such a speech in 2010, he wouldn't be sacked the next day as Powell was, he'd be sacked within hours. It should be noted that many members of the shadow cabinet in 1968 threatened to resign if Powell wasn't sacked and he was criticised by many MPs to the right of the party. It certainly wasn't a media-manufactured storm.

 

[arfer guinness]

Brilliant man who wouldn't be accepted now because of the pathetic way we have to confront immigration. You are being racist if you mention a persons colour or anyone coming into the country.

 

[User removed 4]

I don't say everything's perfect, there are underlying tensions in various areas, and some people from various ethnic groups do suffer subtler forms of discrimination

yes, the white working class.

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Enoch Powell and Oswald Mosley...misunderstood yes but still very very wrong.