Talk:Powellism
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Immigration[edit]
It is worth noting that before his infamous Birmingham Speech Powell welcomed immigrants into Britain when he was Health minister. Perhaps this should be included so as not to give a simplified a bias account?GM1 (talk) 18:04, 14 April 2014 (UTC)
- There is no truth to it, see The Times of 17 February 1998 page 21.--Britannicus (talk) 18:50, 14 April 2014 (UTC)
- What do you mean there is no truth to it? That Enoch Powell did not welcome immigrants when he was Health Minister? I quote:
- "The first of our five groups to arrive in substantial numbers were the black Caribbeans, who were actively recruited after the war to work on the London Underground as well as nurses in the NHS. There is an ironic poster showing Enoch Powell, then Minister for Health but later the most virulent opponent of immigration, asking black Caribbean nurses to come to Britain." Heath, A.F., Fisher, S.D., Rosenblatt, G., Sanders, D., and Sobolewska, M. (2013) The Political Integration of Ethnic Minorities in Britain. Oxford: University of Oxford. Page 19. GM1 (talk) 02:44, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
- Simon Heffer's letter to The Times published on 17 February 1998: "Sir, One of your correspondents today repeats the canard contained in your obituary of Enoch Powell (February 9) that, as Minister of Health, he encouraged immigration in order to staff the NHS. This is a complete untruth. As Powell’s biographer I have been thoroughly through the Ministry of Health papers at the Public Record Office and have found no evidence to support this assertion. I have also questioned senior civil servants from that period, including the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Sir George Godber, who have no recollection of such a policy. Powell himself denied it. The same accusation was made by the late Lord Rippon of Hexham in April 1971...Powell asked Rippon to supply evidence for his assertion. Rippon subsequently replied that he could not and gave Powell an apology, as reported in The Times of May 12, 1971."--Britannicus (talk) 11:20, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
- I find it curious that you reject an academic source out of hand as a result of a comment in the newspaper. Granted, Simon Heffer is Powell's biographer, and a good biography it is too, but to dismiss out of hand academic sources seems rather silly. Might it not be worth highlighting the contrasting accounts, at least? GM1 (talk) 02:31, 6 May 2014 (UTC)
- Simon Heffer's letter to The Times published on 17 February 1998: "Sir, One of your correspondents today repeats the canard contained in your obituary of Enoch Powell (February 9) that, as Minister of Health, he encouraged immigration in order to staff the NHS. This is a complete untruth. As Powell’s biographer I have been thoroughly through the Ministry of Health papers at the Public Record Office and have found no evidence to support this assertion. I have also questioned senior civil servants from that period, including the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Sir George Godber, who have no recollection of such a policy. Powell himself denied it. The same accusation was made by the late Lord Rippon of Hexham in April 1971...Powell asked Rippon to supply evidence for his assertion. Rippon subsequently replied that he could not and gave Powell an apology, as reported in The Times of May 12, 1971."--Britannicus (talk) 11:20, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
"relaxed abortion laws"?[edit]
Actually, he voted against what eventually became the 1967 Abortion Act:
And later, in 1985, he introduced the unsuccessful Unborn Children (Protection) Bill, which would among other things have defined life as beginning at conception.Stealstrash (talk) 17:09, 23 September 2014 (UTC)