The Race Relations Act 1968
[ was an act of the ]Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
making it illegal to refuse housing, employment, or public services to a person on the grounds of colour, race, ethnic or national origins in Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
(although not in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, which had its own parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
at the time). It also created the Community Relations Commission to promote 'harmonious community relations'. The act did not apply to police services.
The act made amendments to the Race Relations Act 1965
The Race Relations Act 1965 (c. 73) was the first legislation in the United Kingdom to address racial discrimination.
The act outlawed discrimination on the "grounds of colour, race, or ethnic or national origins" in public places in Great Brit ...
. It was superseded (and repealed) by the Race Relations Act 1976
The Race Relations Act 1976 (c. 74) was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race. The scope of the legislation included discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, eth ...
.
On 25 October 1968, the Race Relations Bill was given Royal Assent and so came into law as the Race Relations Act 1968. This act expanded the provisions of the 1965 Race Relations act, which had banned racial discrimination in public places and made promoting racial hatred a crime. The 1968 act focused on eradicating discrimination in housing and employment. It aimed to ensure that the second-generation immigrants "who have been born here" and were "going through our schools" would get "the jobs for which they are qualified and the houses they can afford". Although there was considerable debate during the second reading of the Race Relations Act 1968, consensus was eventually reached, with the Race Relations Act 1968 passing its third reading 182 ayes to 44 noes.
The act was criticised for poorly translating "new standards of behaviour" into an effective legal document. The bill which introduced the act was the focus of Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech
The "Rivers of Blood" speech was made by the British politician Enoch Powell on 20 April 1968 to a meeting of the Conservative Political Centre in Birmingham. In it Powell, who was then Shadow Secretary of State for Defence in the Shadow Cabi ...
, delivered to the West Midlands Conservative Association
A Conservative Association (CA) is a local organisation composed of Conservative Party members in the United Kingdom. Every association varies in membership size but all correspond to a parliamentary constituency in England, Wales, Scotland and N ...
on 20 April 1968.
See also
* Ethnic relations
* Racism in the United Kingdom
Racism in the United Kingdom has a long history and includes structural discrimination and hostile attitudes against various ethnic minorities. The extent and the targets have varied over time. It has resulted in cases of discrimination, riot ...
References
External links
Text of the act as originally enacted (PDF)
from the Office of Public Sector Information
The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...
.
50th Anniversary of the 1968 Race Relations act - UK Parliament - Living Heritage
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1968
Anti-discrimination law in the United Kingdom
Race relations in the United Kingdom
1968 in law
1968 in Europe
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