Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

5 Enoch! Enoch

"It was the main subject - we might have to leave the country at any time," says Baldev Singh Bassey, who was 25 at the time of the speech and living in Wolverhampton.

"We didn't have suitcases [packed], but that was the only talk at the time.


"There was fear in our community, a lot of fear," says Mr Bassey.

"We didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow, if we were going to be kicked out [of Britain]."

Such fears were understandable.

In his speech, Powell had suggested the "encouragement of re-emigration" as a solution to what he saw as Britain's problems.

The MP also referred to a long-running campaign by Sikh busmen in Wolverhampton over the right to wear turbans on duty, which he said was a dangerous example of "communalism".

"When he made the speech the Indian community were really scared," Mr Bassey says.

"After that, we didn't know what was going to happen.

"People were talking about it in the pubs and suddenly the attitude of the [white] people living here was hostile."

One of the many industrious immigrants who came to post-war Britain, Mr Bassey arrived in the country from the Punjab in 1962, initially working at the Qualcast foundry and later on the buses for Wolverhampton Corporation.

"In the 1950s and early 60s, neither Powell nor any other prominent politician in the town showed opposition to the presence of Commonwealth immigrants," says University of Wolverhampton academic Dr Shirin Hirsch.

"They needed these workers for capitalism to function."

Despite this acceptance from the political class that immigration was necessary, Mr Bassey recalls that the prejudice he faced had been bad enough even before the speech.

"We were shouted [at] on the buses, we were spat at," the father of five says.

"I was shouted at, 'black bastard, go back to your country'."

Following the speech, Mr Bassey says, the hostility became even worse - a poll conducted by Gallup in the weeks afterwards found 74% of people agreed with what Powell had said.

Mr Bassey remembers being abused in pubs and in the street.

Walking home from work one night, he was accosted by two youths chanting "Enoch! Enoch!"

"We were scared," he says, "there was no doubt about it after that speech."

More For You

Tata-Steel

he Port Talbot EAF will produce up to 3 million tonnes of steel per year using UK-sourced scrap.

getty images

Tata Group begins construction of new Electric Arc Furnace in Port Talbot

TATA STEEL UK has started construction of a new Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) at its Port Talbot site in South Wales. Tata Group chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran marked the groundbreaking ceremony on July 14, joined by Tata Steel CEO and managing director TV Narendran and Tata Steel UK CEO Rajesh Nair.

The EAF project is part of Tata Steel UK’s £1.25 billion plan to transition to low-carbon steelmaking, backed by £500 million from the UK government. The furnace is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2027 and aims to reduce carbon emissions at Port Talbot by about 90 per cent, or 5 million tonnes of CO₂ annually. The project is expected to support 5,000 jobs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Virgin Media

Virgin Media has not yet issued an official statement about the current outage

iStock

Virgin Media users face nationwide blackout and Sky Sports login problems

Highlights:

  • Virgin Media users report widespread service outages on the morning of 14 July
  • Over 400 complaints logged on DownDetector within hours
  • Customers say live chat support has been unresponsive or unhelpful
  • Issues also reported with Sky Sports app logins via Virgin Media
  • Company yet to issue full statement but advises users to contact customer services

Virgin Media broadband users across the UK experienced widespread disruption on Monday morning (14 July), with several hundred reporting a complete internet “blackout” and issues accessing the Sky Sports app via their Virgin logins.

According to data from DownDetector, over 400 reports were logged in the early hours, with affected customers sharing their frustration online. Many cited connectivity failures, poor customer support, and issues persisting for hours.

Keep ReadingShow less
Labour’s non-dom tax changes may cost £4bn, experts warn

Starmer and Reeves during a visit to Horiba Mira in Nuneaton in Nuneaton. (Photo: Getty Images)

Labour’s non-dom tax changes may cost £4bn, experts warn

PLANS by Labour to overhaul the tax rules for non-domiciled residents in the UK could cost the public purse up to £4 billion and result in the loss of thousands of private sector jobs, according to a new analysis.

A report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), shared with The Times, suggested that scrapping the current non-dom regime could lead to a sharp drop in tax revenues if even a fraction of those affected decide to leave the country.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tesla set to open first showroom in India

Elon Musk and Narendra Modi (right)

Tesla set to open first showroom in India

US CARMAKER Tesla is finally making its official debut in India with the opening of its first showroom in Mumbai.

The firm, led by Elon Musk, will unveil the new “Tesla Experience Centre” on Tuesday (15) at Maker Maxity Mall in the Bandra Kurla Complex, one of the city's top commercial hubs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian firm acquires Kings Court Hotel for £2.75m

UK-based Nanak Hotels acquired the 60-room Kings Court Hotel in Warwickshire for £2.75 million. (Photo: Colliers International UK)

Asian firm acquires Kings Court Hotel for £2.75m

UK-BASED Nanak Hotels recently acquired the 60-room Kings Court Hotel, a 17th-century property in Warwickshire, England, for £2.75 million. This is the first regional acquisition by the privately held firm led by British Indians Harpreet Singh Saluja and Karamvir Singh.

Nanak Hotels, which operates a UK property portfolio, plans to invest in the property's refurbishment and repositioning, according to a statement from Colliers International UK, which brokered the transaction.

Keep ReadingShow less