"Rivers of Blood:" 40 Years on

Forty years ago today, UK politician Enoch Powell made a very controversial speech or race- one whose influence still lingers after the decades.
Why else are the BBC, the UK media and European blogs referring to it even now?
In what became known as the “Rivers of Blood” speech, Powell warned of violence between the races should a ‘multicultural’ Britain have 5-7 million immigrants by the turn of the century as he predicted.
The speech created outrage at the time and cost Powell a successful political career.
It also meant anyone who spoke out against immigration was branded a racist and the issue of immigration and multi-culturalism became suppressed over the years. The debate became 'paralysed' .
Now, even racial experts, such as Trevor Philips, see failure in immigration policies, leading to Prime Minister Gordon Brown trying to recreate a new sense of “Britishness.’
So was Powell, right or wrong?
In many ways, sadly, he was right, but not in ways he imagined.
At the time Powell made his speech, the immigration into Britain was largely from Africa and the Caribbean. There was no large scale muslim immigration then.
Now, Britain has 2 million muslims, the Home Secretary recently admitted, up 25% in just seven years. A huge cultural and religious community that is largely reluctant to integrate with the rest of Britain. And, as I reported on this blog before, they are violent against newer immigrant groups, such as Poles.
And this is where the problem lies, a large community that wishes to impose its will on the rest of Britain, with 40% wanting Sharia Law. .And others of the same faith wanting to world to fall to Islam, just as Dutch politician Geert Wilders warns in his Fitna movie.

The 'Afro-Caribbeans' meanwhile, have pretty much integrated and are part of the British social fabric.
Anyway, here’s a round up of some of the coverage.
Simon Heffer of the Daily Telegraph says Powell’s warnings were ‘remarkably accurate.’
The Sun notes a BBC report saying most Britains fear ethnic violence.
Trevor Philips of the Commission for Racial Equality says too much immigration will lead to a ‘cold war’ between the varying ethnic groups.
In balance, the left-wing New Statesman magazine and the UB40 pop group speak of multicultural harmony.
For us in New Zealand, a country built on immigration, Powell’s speech still does have some bearing. We too need to look at issues of numbers and culture.
Winston Peters and New Zealand First have attacked the numbers of ‘Asians’ entering New Zealand and have been roundly and rightly condemned.
But while many ‘Asians’ have contributed much to New Zealand, we still need to look at the kinds of immigrants coming in, both in terms of quality, quantity and ability to integrate. Britain has obviously failed big time with it Muslim problem.
We certainly do NOT want that problem here.
So, maybe, with open minds, it is time to re-read Powell’s ‘inflammatory’ speech and assess its impact and veracity 40 years on and see what we all can learn from it.