Enoch Powell and the Sovereignty of Parliament - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

Enoch Powell was the most powerful postwar exponent of the idea of the sovereignty of Parliament and indeed of English nationalism, opposing the coming of a multiracial society, devolution, and entry into the Common Market, as the European Union used to be called. His ideas proved unacceptable not only to Labour but also to the Conservative Party which he left in 1974. Was he, as his supporters allege, a prophet before his time; or have developments since his death shown that his fears were groundless?
This is a part of the lecture series, Making the Weather: Six politicians who shaped our age.
Winston Churchill wrote of Joseph Chamberlain, Colonial Secretary at the beginning of the 20th century, that, even though he never became Prime Minister, he 'made the weather', meaning that he played a crucial role in shaping the political agenda of his day. These lectures discuss six postwar politicians, none of whom became Prime Minister, but who, like Joseph Chamberlain, also made the weather and so helped to shape the age in which we live.
Enoch Powell and the Sovereignty of Parliament with Professor Vernon Bogdanor was recorded live on 12 Mar 2013.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and...
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/support/

[@pobinr]

Intellect & integrity in great measure. Rare in politicians

[@HeavensGremlin]

The greatest PM the UK never had. What a great man.

[@JimiHendrix998]

Marvellous series. Many thanks for the uploads. "Those who ignore history end up repeating it..".

[@hanson666999]

It's sad to see this sort of civilized discussion occupying such slender margins in our society, now for decades. There are very few rational people out there that have been able to speak about such things broadly and maturely, even less now than there once was.

[@karlfulton4854]

Enoch Powell was the best PM that England never had... Who would have benefited the world so much.

[@astridgilberto]

The elephant in the room is population density. The UK’s ability to feed and water its present population of around 67 Million is creaking considerably. Importing 40% of our food is not sustainable. If and when this supply is disrupted, then what?

[@jamesmcleesh2688]

Enoch Powell was right all along . He just did not read classics but he understood them thoroughly. History has away of repeating it self.

[@Laurencemardon]

Another excellent talk by Professor Bogdanor ... well done! I watched the first of his lectures in this series, & will now search-out the middle two.

[@hazelbooth6844]

My god how right was this man, it’s unbelievable how someone could predict what would happen in the future. 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@Hollows1997]

The last politician to put country before everything else, a true British hero.

[@JonnyWisdom]

I remember the 7/7 attacks in London. I was working a summer job and my boss at the time said Enoch Powell was right. I googled the name and landed on Powells wikipedia page, I was utterly outraged by my bosses comment, so much so that I nearly reported him to HR. At the time I was very sensitive to racism, as I was the son of a immigrant, mixed race and had been regularly bullied because I was the "only p*ki" in the school. However, I can now appreciate what Enoch Powell was saying and his courage. I am pessimistic about long term peaceful race relations. Generally people are ethnocentric and that is OK. The only person who refuses to accept this fact is the post modern, white middle class liberal, who holds no real conviction.

[@willh1970]

'Its very difficult thing in our system to impose populist strength in the country in parliament... ' .... And here we are today.

[@GreshamCollege]

Thanks, Laurence! Delighted that you're enjoying these excellent lectures. There's two more yet to come... We are collecting them all into a playlist on our channel: 'Six Politicians who Shaped the 20th Century' (His previous series, on 'Britain in the Twentieth Century', is also there).

[@b.griffin317]

this helped me understand both sides of the immegration issue better than anything I've ever heard. bravo to prof bogdanor!

[@nwjh1957]

With regard to the Professor's criticism at the end of his lecture, that Powell needed to distance himself from the more inflammatory language of the 'Rivers of Blood' speech, may I offer an alternative viewpoint. Powell was an intellectual ahead of being a politician. While he had a lot to say, and addressed different audiences, he tended to take an academic's approach to making an argument. In this way, he was actually rather terse in his statements. For Powell, it seems, to have stated something definitely once was sufficient. That established his position, and he worked his way on from there.

[@pippipster6767]

Excellent lecture. And EP such a fascinating contradictory character.

[@CBHS1962]

What are people going to say about Powell and his predictions now that Brexit has occurred? Powell actually said things would change when people fully understood the EU situation. He said this in the 1970s and one one of the youtube videos. He said that the British unwritten constitutional situation allowed for more changes than those countries with written fixed constitutions. He had a lot to say on immigration, EU and Scotland even. He was a world renowned Greek Scholar. He did not hate other groups and had a great great love of India where he lived for four years during WW2 and he learnt Urdu too. But he was a British nationalist.

[@dsmith4658]

right on the EEC As well

[@johngovus6580]

He could see when the blind did not want to see.

[@monoman4083]

interesting lecture. interesting man. his stare was intense.