👥 Rising numbers
Arrivals from the Caribbean, India and Pakistan grew through the late 1950s. In 1961 well over 100,000 people came from the Commonwealth, far more than in 1958. Many came in a hurry because they had heard that controls were planned.
Consequences of War and the End of Empire, 1944-62 » Barriers to Change: The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 2 Section B, Breadth study B8, Key topic 3
- Why the government decided to limit immigration from the Commonwealth in 1962
- How the voucher system worked
- What the Commonwealth Immigrants Act did, and what it did not stop
- Why the Act was a barrier to change, and how to write a "different" answer
In 1948 people from the Commonwealth could arrive in Britain freely as British subjects. On 1 July 1962 that changed. For the first time, a law said that most Commonwealth citizens, who until then were British subjects free to enter, had to ask permission before they could come to work.
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Unlock This CourseWhy did the government act?
The Commonwealth Immigrants Act was passed in 1962 by a Conservative government led by Harold Macmillan. The Home Secretary, R. A. Butler, introduced the plan in late 1961. Several pressures lay behind it.
Key terms:
- Voucher: an official permit that allowed a Commonwealth citizen to enter Britain to work.
- Immigration control: laws that limit how many people may enter a country, and who.
- Dependant: a family member, such as a wife or child, who relies on another person for support.
- Barrier to change: something that slowed down or blocked progress towards equal treatment.
🏠 Housing and jobs
Some people feared that new arrivals would take homes and jobs. Housing was short in cities such as London and Birmingham, and some local councils and MPs said the government must act. Cyril Osborne, a Conservative MP, was one of the loudest voices calling for controls.
🔥 Racial tension
The riots in Nottingham and Notting Hill in 1958 and the murder of Kelso Cochrane in 1959 showed how bad feeling had become. Some politicians argued that fewer arrivals would calm things down.
📢 Public opinion
Newspapers and many voters supported limits. The government wanted to show it was listening, even though many Commonwealth workers were doing jobs that Britain needed done.
How did the voucher system work?
From 1 July 1962, a Commonwealth citizen who wanted to work in Britain had to hold an employment voucher. Vouchers came in three kinds:
- Category A: for people who already had a job waiting for them with a named employer.
- Category B: for people with skills or qualifications that Britain needed, such as nurses, doctors and teachers.
- Category C: for everyone else, mostly unskilled workers with no job arranged. They were dealt with in the order they applied, and the number issued could be cut by the government.
People born in Britain, or who held a British passport issued in Britain, did not need a voucher. Citizens of the Irish Republic were also left out of the controls. This is why critics said the Act was really aimed at Black and Asian people, even though the law itself did not mention race. The government replied that it was about jobs and housing, not colour.
What were the effects?
📉 Fewer workers came
Arrivals of workers fell sharply once the vouchers began. The Category C vouchers, used mostly by unskilled workers, were cut back in the following years.
👪 Families settled
The Act did not stop wives and children joining a man already in Britain. Many men who had planned to work for a few years and then go home now decided to stay and bring their families, because they feared they might not be allowed back. So the Act helped to turn temporary workers into permanent communities.
- Political divide: the Labour Party, led by Hugh Gaitskell, opposed the Act as unfair. Later Labour governments kept and tightened controls.
- Attitudes: many Black and Asian Britons felt the law told them they were not fully welcome. It also suggested to others that immigration was a problem to be solved.
- Jobs: the NHS and transport still needed workers, so skilled vouchers kept some routes open.
Why was it a barrier to change?
Between 1944 and 1962 the theme of this study is slow progress towards equality. This Act went the other way. It limited who could come, signalled that Commonwealth migrants were treated differently from other newcomers, and set a pattern for later immigration laws, which you meet in the lesson on Enoch Powell and the Immigration Act 1971.
Change and continuity: in 1948 Commonwealth citizens could come freely, whereas from 1962 they needed vouchers. But prejudice, poor housing and job discrimination continued, and there was still no law against racial discrimination. That came later.
Common mistakes
- Saying the Act banned all immigration. It limited workers by vouchers, and dependants could still join.
- Saying the Act mentioned race. It applied to Commonwealth citizens in general, but critics said it was aimed at non-white people because Irish citizens and British passport holders were left out.
- Mixing up dates: the Act came into force on 1 July 1962, well after the 1958 riots and the Windrush arrival in 1948.
- Giving only one similarity or difference. One way alone cannot score more than 3 out of 6.
Exam-style question
This is a Paper 2, Section B type (a) question. Each way must say something about both sides. In 1948 the British Nationality Act let Commonwealth citizens enter Britain freely, and the Windrush arrived that year.
Explain two ways in which the rights of Commonwealth citizens to enter Britain in 1962 were different from their rights in 1948. [6 marks]
Model answer
One difference is that in 1948 Commonwealth citizens could enter Britain freely, whereas by 1962 they needed permission. After the British Nationality Act of 1948, passengers on the Empire Windrush and later ships could land without any permit. The Commonwealth Immigrants Act, in force from 1 July 1962, required most of them to hold an employment voucher before they could come to work.
A second difference is the type of worker who could come. In 1948 people could arrive with no job arranged and look for work, and employers such as London Transport and the NHS recruited in the Caribbean. By 1962 a worker needed a Category A voucher for a named job or a Category B voucher for needed skills, while unskilled workers with no job fell into Category C, where the numbers could be cut. So the system became selective, where in 1948 it had been open.
What lifts it to the top level: each way gives a precise fact about 1948 and a precise fact about 1962 in the same paragraph.
Exam tip
Use a "both... whereas" or "whereas in 1962..." sentence so that each paragraph clearly compares the two periods.
Recap
- The Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962 came into force on 1 July 1962 under Macmillan's government.
- Pressures were rising numbers, housing and jobs, racial tension and public opinion.
- Workers needed Category A, B or C vouchers; dependants could still join.
- It made families settle for good and was a barrier to equality.