On April 20 1968, the British politician Enoch Powell made a controversial speech in Birmingham to the annual meeting of the West Midlands Conservative Political Centre , in which he warned his audience of what he believed would be the consequences of continued immigration from the Commonwealth to Britain. Because of its allusion to Virgil saying that the Tiber would foam with blood, Powell's warning became known as the Rivers of Blood speech.

The next day, the Leader of the Opposition Edward Heath sacked Powell from his Shadow Cabinet. Powell never held another senior political post.

The speech was followed by strikes, in particular in London's docklands, both in support and in opposition. Powell gained considerable support from the public, receiving over 100,000 letters and was supported by MPs such as Sir Gerald Nabarro. Some supportive commentators attributed the surprise 1970 election victory by Edward Heath on the swing in Powell's West Midlands heartland, while other more hostile commentators have said that this speech alienated many immigrants from the Conservative Party.

Even today, the speech remains the subject of much argument and controversy, all the more so because Powell was highly regarded as one of Britain's most gifted politicians, albeit a maverick. Many since the speech have instantly - and understandably - labelled his views as racist, and condemned them as such; others have interpreted the speech not as a fear over race, but as a fear that the clash of cultures would be too much for Britain's social infrastructure (a view that the events of the Brixton, Toxteth and Handsworth riots in in the 1980s suggest were not entirely wrong).

External links

• Press reaction from the Birmingham Post