Unveiling Disregarded Racism in British Immigration Practices between 1945 and 1965: A Focus on the Others and the Colonies

This study, firstly, aims to reveal racist perspectives towards immigrants, particularly from the colonies to the United Kingdom, and racism among policymakers within a 20-year time frame following 1945, and, secondly, seeks to provide an overview of how issues stemming from the controversy on racism were perceived in the UK from the end of the 2nd World War to the mid-60s. The study also attempts to link the consequences of the shrinkage of the British Empire with the emergence of racial perspectives on immigration in the UK during that period. Following the end of the 2nd World War, British immigration policies underwent significant changes, from the laissez-faire approaches of the central government (Rattansi, 1995, p. 24) in the late 40s to the most restrictive laws and regulations of Europe (Joppke, 1999, pp. 100-102) in the 60s and 70s, two contrasting approaches to immigration. One of the key factors shaping a pretty flexible immigration policy in the early period of this study was an urgent response to the war-ravaged economy and its pressing need for labor, which urged the British government to decide on the creation of various initiatives to attract immigrants from former colonies and Commonwealth nations. The British Nationality Act, enacted in 1948, awarded 800 million people the right to claim British citizenship (Joppke, 1999, p. 101) and eventually facilitated migration to the United Kingdom from the Commonwealth and the colonies. This change in immigration policy triggered the beginning of mass immigration, known as the ‘Windrush Generation,’ particularly from the Caribbean and South Asian countries. Windrush and similar mass movements of people to Britain accelerated with the support of the 1948 Act and Britain’s need for unskilled labor; however, the whole immigration policy changed in the following years, which imposed stricter controls on immigration with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962 and the subsequent Immigration Act of 1971. The toughening of British legislation gave way to a more selective approach, promoting the migration of mostly skilled and highly qualified individuals. These transformations in the UK reflected the complex and evolving nature of British immigration policy in the post-2nd World War decades, shaped by economic needs, political considerations, and changing societal dynamics.