What was the Windrush generation and why was it so important?

What was the Windrush Generation?

After WWII, many Caribbean people migrated to areas in North America and Europe, particularly to the United Kingdom and the United States. After the losses Britain experienced during the war, they encouraged immigration from the Commonwealth countries to fill labour shortages. The British Nationality Act of 1948 gave citizenship to all people living in British colonies, and the right to entry and settlement in the UK. The Windrush generation is categorised as those who arrived in the UK between 1948 and 1973. 

The HMT Empire Windrush arrived with 1,027 migrants on the 22nd of June 1948 in Tilbury Essex. Unlike the previous two ships that arrived under the government scheme, the Windrush received great media attention. The ship was a troopship en route from Australia to England and docked in Kingston, Jamaica. Those who boarded the ship were mostly former servicemen who worked for Britain during the war. Aldwyn Roberts, better known by his stage name Lord Kitchener, and "the grand master of calypso" also arrived on the ship. The HMT Empire Windrush and subsequent ship arrivals changed the face of the UK as we know it now. The arrival of Caribbean and West Indian immigrants was of course controversial. George Issac, the minister of labour and national service argued against immigration in parliament, saying that Windrush would serve as encouragement for immigrants from other countries to follow their example. 

Although politically controversial, the UK job market and industries flocked to recruit workers. The NHS and public transport sectors were areas which saw large numbers of Windrush immigrants employed, with the NHS seeing massive recruitment from Barbados and Jamaica.

However, because of the large number of black and ethnic minority immigrants seen in the UK, racist tensions started to rise. Many faced institutional racism and had issues finding housing and employment. Tensions evolved in some cases into riots, which were worst in London, Birmingham and Nottingham. Attacks in Notting Hill and the racially motivated murder of Kelso Cochrane, a young carpenter from Antigua created large tensions in the area. Resolutions to end these tensions would form the basis for what we now know as Notting Hill Carnival. 

What was the Windrush Scandal?

In April 2018, it emerged that the UK Home Office had not kept a record of issued paperwork to those granted permission to stay in the UK. They had also destroyed the landing cards belonging to Windrush migrants, in 2010.

Those affected by this gross negligence were unable to prove that they were in the country legally and thus were prevented from accessing healthcare, work, and housing, had their passports confiscated and threatened with deportation. A review found that at least 83 people who had arrived before 1973 had been wrongly deported by the UK government.

The scandal was linked to Theresa May’s hostile environment policy that she instituted during her time as Home Secretary. The policy was a set of measures that were implemented to make staying in the UK as difficult as possible for those without leave to remain, in the hopes that they would voluntarily leave or self-deportate. Some victims of the scandal were left homeless and destitute. A compensation scheme was announced in 2018, but most victims have yet to receive this compensation, with some dying before they were able to receive it.