I heard a wonderful anecdote the other day. A well to-do couple knelt to receive communion. A man knelt next to them. They noticed that he was Enoch Powell. They told a friend after the service that a church which accepted Powell as a communicant was not for them.
It is Enoch Powell’s centenary today, and his monstrous reputation persists, even at the communion rail. Sunder Katwala, the thoughtful former general secretary of the Fabian Society, believes that Powell, and in particular his infamous views on immigration and identity, should be regarded as ‘a historical figure, an important, troubled voice in Britain’s difficult transition to the post-imperial society which we have become.’
Katwala’s advice is constructive, but it is important to remember that there was rather more to Powell than the ‘Rivers of Blood’. Peter Oborne wrote a column earlier this week in defence of Powell, though not the language and predictions that precipitated his fall.
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