The Lives and Afterlives of Enoch Powell The Undying Political Animal Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right Series

50 years after Enoch Powell?s self-styled detonation in the form of his so-called ?Rivers of Blood? speech, this volume brings together contributions from international scholars in the field of history, political science and British studies, with new insights from hitherto unexplored archives. It investigates some of the key national and grassroots parameters which, from above and from below, led to Powell?s violent irruption into the immigration debate in 1968. It apprehends Powell as a political and intellectual figure firmly established in the British Tory tradition, a tradition which was to shape the 1970s debate on race and immigration, and be avidly instrumentalised by the British far-right. It also analyses Powell?s positioning vis-à-vis the Irish question, and apprehends Powell?s late-1960s moment from an international standpoint, as one of the early stages of the conservative revolution which was to culminate in 2016 with Trump?s election. Lastly, this book weaves a thread between Powell and another recent political detonation: Brexit.

Acknowledgements

List of Contributors

Introduction

Part 1 : The Powell Effect in British Politics and Society

1. ‘Powell and After: Immigration, Race and Politics in Britain’






R. Ford

2. ‘Wrathful rememberers : harnessing the memory of World War II in letters of support to Powell






O. Esteves





Part 2 : Powell and the Press




3. ‘Powell and the media : an insider’s account’






N. Jones

4. ‘An international press view of the Powell Moment (1968-1973)’






O. Esteves





Part 3 : Reterritorialising Powell




5. ‘The rise of the Runnymede Trust : Enoch Powell and the media wars’






B. Bebber

6. ‘Enoch Powell, British Nationality and The Irish Question (1968-1987)’






D. Shiels








Part 4 : Powellism and Conservative Politics




7. ‘Enoch Powell, Julian Amery and Debates over Britain’s world role after 1945’






P. Corthorn

8. ‘The End of an Intellectual Journey: How Alfred Sherman’s Ideas on Immigration and the British Nation were Framed by Powellism (1968-1979)’






S. Porion





Part 5 : Powellism and Nativist Right Politics




9. ‘"Enoch was right" – The Powell Effect on the National Front in the 1970s’






S. Porion

10. ‘The ambivalence of UKIP towards Enoch Powell’s legacy’

K. Tournier-Sol

Conclusion

Index

Olivier Esteves is Professor of British Studies at the University of Lille, France.

Stéphane Porion is senior lecturer in British Studies at the University of Tours, France.