| 1933 |
Flow
of (mostly) Jewish refugees from Nazis begins |
| 1938 |
British
Medical Association objects to the number of Jewish doctors arriving in
Britain |
| 1945 |
Second
World War ends
Government (Labour) attempts
to send back wartime workers to colonies
Substantial flow of immigrants
from Ireland |
| 1947 |
Polish
people homeless because of the War, invited to come to UK |
| 1948 |
British
Nationality Act, gives citizenship to people from ex-colonies
First immigrant ships arrive
from the Caribbean |
| 1949 |
Royal
Commission on Population report, argues that immigrants should be encouraged
only if they are of 'good human stock' |
| 1950 |
Private
Member's Bill to outlaw racial discrimination fails to be passed (Labour
govt) |
| 1951 |
Conservatives
win election |
| 1952 |
USA:
new law restricts immigration from Caribbean to USA |
| 1954 |
Law
to limit immigration to UK considered but not presented to parliament |
| 1956 |
Private
Member's Bill to outlaw racial discrimination in public places fails to
be passed (Conservative govt) |
| 1958 |
Street
violence against black people in Nottingham and Notting Hill |
| 1959 |
Conservatives
win election |
| 1960 |
Birmingham
Immigration Control Association set up (pressure group against immigration) |
| 1961 |
Campaign
for immigration control contributes to large rise in immigration to 'beat
the ban' |
| 1962 |
Commonwealth
Immigrants Act (Conservative govt), immigrants need employment voucher
to get in |
| 1964 |
Labour
win election (though a Conservative wins Smethwick (Birmingham) using slogan
'Nigger for your neighbour? Vote Labour'
Labour government renews
immigration control |
| 1965 |
Reduction
in annual number of entry vouchers to 8500, 1000 of these are given to
Malta (Labour govt)
Race Relations Act makes
some discrimination unlawful |
| 1966 |
Labour
wins election
First national report on
extent of racial discrimination |
| 1967 |
National
Front founded
Joint Council for the Welfare
of Immigrants established |
| 1968 |
Commonwealth
Immigrants Act passed to control entry of refugee Asians from East Africa
Enoch Powell (Conservative)
makes speech saying immigration will cause 'river of blood' in UK
New Race Relations Act outlaws
discrimination in employment and housing
Parliamentary Select Committee
on Race Relations and Immigration established |
| 1969 |
Major
survey of British race relations published |
| 1970 |
Conservatives
win election |
| 1971 |
New
Immigration Act replaces acts of 1962 and 1968, tightens controls
Home Office sets up its own
race relations research unit |
| 1972 |
Asians
expelled from Uganda; 27000 admitted to UK |
| 1973 |
National
Front obtains 16.3% of vote at West Bromwich by-election in May |
| 1974 |
Labour
win election
Second national report on
extent of racial discrimination and disadvantage |
| 1976 |
New
Race Relations Act - Commission for Racial Equality established. Rise in
support for National Front in May elections, but no seats won
Notting Hill carnival involves
clashes between young blacks and the police |
| 1977 |
National
Front increases activity in by-elections and confrontational marches, comes
third in 2 by-elections |
| 1978 |
Mrs
Thatcher says people may feel 'swamped' by immigrants of another culture
Conservatives propose tougher
immigration legislation |
| 1979 |
Conservatives
win election
National Front fragments
after disastrous election results |
| 1980 |
Select
Committee recommends repeal of 'Sus' stop and search law
Street disturbances in Bristol
after police raid on cafe in St. Paul's |
| 1981 |
Nationality
Act passed. Inner-city riots in Brixton, Toxteth and elsewhere
Select committee report on
racial disadvantage
Lord Scarman's official report
on cause of riots says too much discrimination
First Home Office report
on racial attacks suffered by minorities |
| 1983 |
Conservatives
win election |
| 1985 |
Riot
in Handsworth (Birmingham) two shopkeepers die in fire
Riot in Broadwater Farm (London),
policeman murdered |
| 1986 |
Visa
controls imposed on visitors from India, Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan and Bangladesh
Second Home Office report
on racial attacks
Immigration Act, controls
tightened |
| 1987 |
Conservatives
win election
Four black/Asian Labour MPs |
| 1988 |
Immigration
Act, controls tightened |
| 1989 |
Death
sentence passed by leader of Iran on British writer Salman Rushdie, for
offending Muslims in a book
Government (Conservative)
grants citizenship to 225,000 people from Hong Kong mostly Chinese |
| 1990 |
British
Nationality (Hong Kong) Act, limits numbers that can come to UK
European Parliament report
on racism
Nottinghamshire police found
guilty of racial discrimination against officer |
| 1991 |
Bill
Morris becomes the first black person elected to lead a major union, the
TGWU
Asylum Bill published, to
limit entry by asylum seekers |
| 1992 |
Conservatives
win election
Six ethnic minority MPs elected,
black Conservative candidate loses at Cheltenham
First Asian judge appointed |
| 1997 |
European
Year Against Racism
Labour wins election |
| 1998 |
Fatwa
on Salmon Rushdie lifted |
| 1998 |
Britkid
website goes on-line >http://www.brit.org |
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