The real tributaries of Enoch’s ‘rivers of blood’

Roy

A last voice speaking for the people of his constituency and the country. A last voice before the country was overwhelmed by the flood tide of different, strange looking people. The ordinary folk had no such say, all they could do was move out of the street as the new people moved in. A birthright removed. A country now to be shared with all and everyone. The slain of our ancesters replaced by . . . we no not who. The decisions taken by our betters on the quiet, while the natives slept . . . we sneaked 'em in.

Nizhinsky

One of the most interesting things about Powell is how is brain ran on pure logic. He was prone to voice 'inconvenient truths' because he was unrestrained by sentimentalism and wishful thinking. In that respect I always did think it tragic that he was taken up as a cause by irrational, hate-fueled racists.

Nizhinsky

Speaking of irrational sentimentalists Roy...

Dunroamin

Enoch was right to fear communalism. A properly-functioning democracy requires a homogeneous people. When sizeable minorites have divergent interests, the result can be civil war, resolved only by power-sharing or secession. British politics was bad enough when the divisions were class and religion (catholic or protestant. Now we have imported every warring group from around the world, most of whom hate us as well as each other, and most of whom will never integrate because they do not allow inter-marriage. How long before the UK goes the way of Yugoslavia or Somalia?

Tariq

Powell's onslaught over the Hola detention camp might instead have reflected his anger at dishonourable British behaviour overseas. Whatever his motives in 1959 or 1968, it should cause Tories alarm that his views on immigration continue to be their party's default position on the subject. Hardly the way forward.

David Lindsay

Communalism, eh? Well, in Derby, a large number of Labour Councillors and other members of Indian origin has just defected to the Tories on a specifically communal basis, and been welcomed with open arms on that very basis. And the Tories' vehicles toured Ealing Southall proclaiming in various South Asian languages that Muslim, Hindu and Sikh festivals were to be made public holidays by the Tories. Then that party's "Quality of Life Commission" (don't laugh, it's real) published a report advocating that "local communities" be given the power to designate three public holidays in their respective localities. In other words, the Tories are going to go around Asian areas at the next Election making this same promise all over again, adjusted according to how Muslim, Hindu or Sikh the particular constituency, ward or addressee happens to be. After this, what else are these unspecified "local communities" going to decide? Who are they, exactly? I think we all know that they are the great and the good of the local mosque, mandir or gurdwara. Getting to decide this, and then a whole lot more, is to be their price for getting out the vote for the Bullingdon Boys, sometimes consisting of nothing more than reminding their mates to fill in postal ballot papers the right way on behalf of their entire households. These situations will easily perpetuate themselves, since people will move - not just from around the country, but from around the world - to live in Cameron's Caliphates, Hindutvas and Khalistans.

Herbert Thornton

After the London underground and bus bombings, it's clear that the blood has now actually begun to flow.

Even worse, the multiculturalism and political correctness that people have been brainwashed with are political diseases that resemble haemophilia - they don't just prevent us from stemming the flow, they encourage it..

Chris

Let's get this straight once and for all. Powell was just a nasty racist. He reckoned he could get some political advantage by appealing to the nasty racist vote. He belongs with Oswald Mosley on the list of politicians we should all be very ashamed of. Powell was also a liar - the people he quoted in the speech (the famous lady in his constituency who lived in fear). The way, having failed to produce that person, he then tried to make out it was because of his respect for people's privacy, shows just how low his moral level was. He was also stupid, in the classic style of British stupidity, professor of Greek before he was weaned or not. He thought he'd get away with it. There can be no justification for Powell. The man was utter scum.

JohnC

Powell committed political suicide after his speech by having the courage to speak for the "nuetered muzzeled majority by accusations of racism" of England. Look at the state of the country today, fragmented communities living in near total seperation behind their self imposed ideological walls not wishing to be tainted by the native culture but happy to receive its financial largesse. We fear Islam, muslims most, as their denial of our culture and victim mentality drives them even further apart from their hosts to such a degree as to a few to bomb and kill indiscriminantly both Christian and Muslim. Government is also and has always been in denial or more like suppression to the growing communities tensions and try hard to stifle all debate but their attempts supported by large sections of the media as well,(the BBC is a classic ethnic-centric,PC Liberal stronghold) just increase the evergrowing pressure of resentment, encouraging alienation and anger felt by many natives of which I am one. From being a active member of society (an ex Liberal, Social- Democratic party member) deeply aware of the importance of voting in elections, I now stand aside feeling totally disconnected from a system I now feel no resonance or loyalty too and if I do vote it will be for a party that is so odious as to vent my disgust and alienation created over the last 40 years, by successive Governments. So much a land of the rainbow coalition this multicultural Nivarnha? If I could I would leave to live abroad driven by as I perceive the persecution and supression of my beliefs as have hundreds of thousands of other native Britons, compelled to move out over the last few years,from a country they do not recognise from just 20 years ago. My situation if mirrored by many will create pressures so powerful as to change radically in the future how we govern ourselves and does not bode well for our interpretation of democracy. Powell was simply right and still resonates as seen by us still discussing the speech 40 years later.

gavin

And yet there's no end to good Englishmen moving abroad to settle amongst what Roy calls 'different, strange looking people.' There's more Brits living in Cape Town than you can shake a stick at. They seem to manage quite well, even with their birthright laying an ocean's length away.

Vincent McKenzie

If Enoch Powell had nothing to say, why do some people froth at the mouth trying to say so? Chris - Tariq Then you get the people who try to belittle other's comments with unmanly comments more suited to teenage girls.

Tariq

Mr. McKenzie, my tone in my previous comment was anything but frothing. And I don't claim that Powell had nothing to say; only that the Tories have nothing to gain by debating what he said ad nauseum.

Sirhc

Chris: I don't care if Powell was CND, BNP or jumping flipping Zebedee! Powells speech has come true time and time again. If you find the truth distasteful. Please seek psychiatric help. The public owe rioters, i.e. terrorists. NOTHING! We only ever see "other races" do this in our sweet country. I was around when Powell made that speech. I was around when blood was flowing in our streets. Enoch the racist? His wife was Jewish! As goes the lady constituent who "lives in fear". Powell could never give out anyones name. Thats exactly what his twisted conniving enemies wanted. Go figure. Fool.

Ollie

Enoch powell was a great man. He was very intelligent and said what the majority of the public were thinking. It was only out of fear that he was removed from his position and cast aside, which is what regulary happens to people who "get out of line" and say what they feel. Anyone who calls him a "nasty racist" needs to take their head out of the clouds and come back to the real world. All his predictions for this country have come true whether you want to beleive it or not. He was not racist, he was realist. All You "do-gooders" can say what you want but everything this man said was true, this country has gone right down the toilet and the reasons for it should be obvious.

Roy

This question will never be finished once and for all. The English people (mainly English)were betrayed!!! The snooty nosed crowd of parliamentary decision makers couldn't see any further than the woodworm in their club furniture. Secluded in their mansions on the hill, remote to all and sundry, what difference did it make to them? Might well such a lot of people emigrate, for better or for worse, they have been disenfranchised.

alan stoddart

Communalism...another name for multiculturalism. Why criticise Enoch when Bertrand Russell said this: "The white population of the world will soon cease to increase. The Asiatic races will be longer, and the negroes still longer, before their birth rate falls sufficiently to make their numbers stable without help of war and pestilence. Until that happens, the benefits aimed at by socialism can only be partially realized, and the less prolific races will have to defend themselves by methods which are disgusting even if they are necessary." or how about this: "I do not pretend that birth control is the only way in which population can be kept from increasing. There are others, which, one must suppose, opponents of birth control would prefer. War . . . has hitherto been disappointing in this respect, but perhaps bacteriological war may prove more effective. If a Black Death could be spread throughout the world once in every generation survivors could procreate freely without making the world too full." Good old left wing principles there.

Steve Brown

I was on holiday when we had the referendum about mass immigration. I can just about remember the leaflets explaining the huge benefits we could expect. "Vibrant" was used a lot. And now ?

JOHN CORFIELD

To the Editor I submitted an article to you which took me 30mins to construct and was a heartfelt and genuine representation of my views. You have decided not to publish my pessimistic analysis of the current state of this country and the reasonance still of E. Powells speech in 1968. Why I feel compelled to write is the vindication of my argument that Britian is in social crisis as seen by the Primate of York's exact views in the Sunday Telegraph and of Prince Harry's " I do not like England much" Please understand now why I do not subscribe to the Speccie. Your failure to permit free responsable speech by someone who passionately cares for this land yet can publish Taki's rants (well used to)should be an indication to you how your draconian censorship of freely given ideas is just another indication of how seperated you are from the mainstream though of the people. Under your current Editor you appear a lightly blue rinsed version of the New Stateman, though elequent, seems to be a very Lib-Dem organ certainly not representative of robust anti-socialist ideas associated previously further alienating peoples from magazines such as yours. Such a shame especially as the Guardian allows unfettered access of its bloggers relying on the commonsense of its readers to complain and have removed specific enteries. That says a lot about the Spectator as a conduit of free speech.

Robert Peterson

All of you are wrong: In Australia over 150 diferent nationalities live together with practically no friction and hardly anyone bothers to ask "where are you from" as all look upon themselves as white black or yellow Australians. British society is a society in transition and for reasons which are now part of history the process of intergration is likely to be protracted and probably even painfull. Or could it just be that we have all learned a lesson from the pitiful plight in this day and age of the Aboriginal community?

Provincial Type

Whether Encoh Powell was racist or not is irrelevant. What matters is that he was right on where communalism leads. That's why we're still talking about him 40 years on. With regard to Australila, there was race rioting there in 2005 so Robert Peterson's claim that there is "practically no friction" in Australia is very wrong.

Roy

Australia needs extra people, has the space to put them, the work to give them, and grows the food to feed them. England does not.

Robert Peterson

Provincial Type is splitting hairs: I used the word "practically" and I say to Roy, we live in what is really a desert and have endured many years of severe drought: we have a tiny economy in reltion to England and life is not all beer and skittles. On a day to day basis race is not an issue.

Iain

"Powell was just a nasty racist." Very wrong. I grew up in Bradford in the 50s and 60s. A lasting memory is how 80+ year old pensioners were subject to hysterical abuse for objecting to the changes imposed upon the neighbourhoods they had lived in all their lives. Powell understood this. Now THAT really is nasty.

PaulM

Chris, I'm afraid you're wrong about Enoch Powell, he was not a liar and "the famous lady in his constituency who lived in fear" did exist and her name was published in this very magazine some weeks ago. Powell never revealed who she was out of respect for her privacy and personal security. He was not "scum" as you allege, far from it in fact and we would be a better country were more of our politicians like him.

John Dean

Rivers of blood have flowed and will continue to flow and Britain has indeed lost her homogenuity because of treasonous politians. Why was there no electoral referendum on this vital subject?

Roy

There is no doubt the original inhabitants of these islands have been ridden rough shod over, along with any opinion they may have had, and still have. You don't have to be a racist to like your own people and wish others to keep their distance.

Nicholas

The real 'nasty' people are those who come out with the most vitriolic bile at anyone who even dares question immigration. These people who try and use their fascist methods to shut down debate are the real 'scum' in our society. It is an inarguable fact that the majority supported what Powell said in his 1968 speech. No one can contest that.

jamie delaney

its terra