Our latest “Document of the Week”, chosen by our Editor, Nishah Malik, is an article titled “The Impact of the Immigrants” by the English historian, Sir Arthur Bryant, published in The Illustrated London News (ILN) on 2 March 1968. The article captures a moment of national anxiety during a period of increased immigration to Britain.
1960s Britain saw intense political debate and public unease over immigration from Commonwealth countries. The decade witnessed widespread discussions—often laced with racial undertones—about the social and cultural impact of immigration. Protests, new legislation, and incendiary speeches—most infamously, Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech that he delivered in Birmingham in April 1968—reflected fears about Britain’s changing identity.
In 1968, large numbers of East Africans of Asian descent (so-called “twice migrants”) emigrated to Britain due to their concerns about their treatment in newly independent East African countries, particularly Kenya. In response, the British government speedily passed the Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1968, restricting the right of entry into Britain for Commonwealth citizens.
Publications like the ILN regularly reported on immigration, with Bryant contributing a long-running opinion column, “Our Notebook”. In the article spotlighted here, he presented the “imminent mass invasion of Indians and Pakistanis from Kenya” as a looming threat. He argued that immigrants would strain housing, schools, hospitals, and employment, claiming that maternity wards were “overbooked for delivery” by Pakistani women who “seldom speak our language”.
This article stemmed from, and reflected, anxieties about assimilation, implying that immigrants from Africa and Asia are inherently unfit to adapt to “liberal” British society. Bryant lamented that these newcomers found it hard to adapt to English customs as they were “shaped by instincts, habits, and aptitudes” incompatible with the British way of life. His article reinforced many of the racial and cultural stereotypes that underpinned immigration policy debates at the time.
Though he claimed that Britain was “humane” on racial matters, this statement is immediately contradicted by the way in which he categorised immigrants not just as culturally different, but as biologically distinct. He warned that immigrants may “never become truly British”, thereby treating identity as fixed and racialised.
In the piece, Bryant frequently used words such as “alien” and “invasion”, suggesting that people arriving in Britain were not just immigrants, but some sort of unfamiliar creature that had pushed their way in. Immigrants are frequently dehumanised throughout the piece, often referred to as an “enormous and uncontrollable” population. This language positioned immigrants as a problem to be managed, rather than humans with needs, rights, or voices. There is no reference to the personal experiences, hopes, or contributions of those arriving—only their strain on British institutions. Even reproduction is weaponised as a threat to British life.
Bryant expressed concern that British society was “suddenly expected to absorb an alien element”. He went on to state that “no other nation in the world today” would “tolerate such a massive incursion of strangers”. Although Bryant briefly acknowledged that many immigrants held British passports, he undercut this by claiming that they were “in a very real sense foreigners”, thereby suggesting that they would never be accepted. Indeed, Bryant’s rhetoric resembled that advanced by other opponents of mass immigration at this time, in that he sought to distance Britain from its imperial project and the consequences and responsibilities that the empire had generated.
His article therefore offers a glimpse into post-war narratives of race, belonging, and national identity in Britain. More than half a century later, Bryant’s rhetoric still echoes in contemporary discourse—from debates about illegal immigrants to concerns over integration and “British values”.
Where to find this document
This article is from our new collection, The Illustrated London News, 1842–2003. This fascinating and visually stunning resource brings together the extensive back catalogue of one of the most influential and successful publications in the history of British print media: The Illustrated London News (ILN), founded in 1842 by Herbert Ingram. This impressive collection will enable students, researchers, and educators to investigate the history of modern Britain, and especially the history of British print journalism, in remarkable detail. Visit the collection page to learn more.