Enoch Powell

John Enoch Powell (16 June 19128 February 1998) was a British politician, scholar and writer. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South West for the Conservative Party from 1950 to February 1974 and as the MP for South Down for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from October 1974 to 1987. He was Minister of Health from 1960 to 1963 in the second Macmillan ministry and was Shadow Secretary of State for Defence from 1965 to 1968 in the Shadow Cabinet of Edward Heath.

Before entering politics Powell was a classical scholar and a brigadier, having served during the Second World War. As a writer, Powell wrote both poetry and books on classical and political subjects. He is remembered particularly for his views on British immigration. In 1968, Powell attracted attention nationwide for his "Rivers of Blood" speech, in which he criticised immigration to the UK, and especially rapid influx from the Commonwealth. He opposed the anti-discrimination Race Relations Bill (which ultimately became law). The speech was criticised by some of Powell's own party members and ''The Times'' as racialist. Heath, who was then the leader of the Conservative Party and the leader of the Opposition, dismissed Powell from the Shadow Cabinet the day after the speech. In the aftermath of the Rivers speech, several polls suggested that 67–82% of the British population agreed with Powell's opinions.

Powell turned his back on the Conservatives and endorsed a vote for the Labour Party, which returned as a minority government. Powell was returned to the House of Commons in October 1974 as the Ulster Unionist Party MP for the Northern Ireland constituency of South Down. He represented the constituency until he was defeated at the 1987 general election. Powell died in 1998 aged 85, and remains a divisive figure in the UK. Provided by Wikipedia