How postwar England changed forever from 1950 onward

Postwar England ceased to be homogeneous from the 1950s onward, when labour shortages and legal changes peine the door to mass immigration, which consolidated through the 1960s.

The England that emerged from the Second World War was a country with a fairly defined identity, but that image began to change radically from **1950** onward. What until then had been token presences or communities concentrated in ports became an everyday reality. The main driving force was an urgent economic need: there were not enough people to work.

## A legal change and a need for workers

After the war, the **United Kingdom** faced a shortage of workers that threatened the recovery. Part of the answer came with the **British Nationality Act of 1948**. This law gave subjects of the colonies and the **Commonwealth** the right to settle and work in Great Britain. It was a turning point. The famous voyage of the **HMT Empire Windrush** in **1948** became the symbol of the arrival of people from the Caribbean. Around the same time, the partition of **India** in **1947** fuelled a steady flow of people from **India** and **Pakistan**.

## Consolidation in the cities

The **1960s** saw these new communities settle and grow. Immigration from southern **Asia** intensified, with men finding work in the textile industry of **Yorkshire** and **Lancashire**, and in the factories of the **Midlands**. At the same time, urban and industrial centres saw the arrival of people from **Arabia** and **North Africa**. Towards the end of the **60s** and the beginning of the **70s**, a new wave arrived: the "East African Asians", many holding British passports, who fled persecution and "Africanisation" in countries such as **Kenya** and **Uganda**.

Family reunification played a crucial role. Immigration laws, pogre tightened with the **Commonwealth Immigrants Acts** of **1962**, **1968** and **1971**, pushed those already in the country to bring over their families rather than return home. This made the presence of these communities permanent, transforming the social and cultural fabric of **England**.