📢 Why it worked
It put financial and public pressure on the company, it was well organised, it was peaceful, and the press and politicians gave it attention across the country.
Changes in Civil Rights, c1962-1986 » The Bristol Bus Boycott and the Race Relations Act 1965
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 2 Section B, Breadth study B8, Key topic 4
- Why Bristol bus crews were all white in 1963, and how a boycott ended that
- What the Race Relations Act (1965) banned, and what it did not
- How the Acts of 1968 and 1976 went further
- How to answer an "Explain TWO causes" question
In 1963 a young Black man could be refused a job on the buses in a British city for one reason only: the colour of his skin. And in most of the country, that was not against the law. This lesson shows how a protest in Bristol, and then a new law, began to change that.
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Unlock This CourseThe Bristol Bus Boycott, 1963
Many people from the Caribbean and South Asia had settled in Bristol in the 1950s and early 1960s. Many faced a colour bar, which means a rule or custom that stops people of a certain race from getting jobs, housing or services. The Bristol Omnibus Company, which ran the city's buses, did not employ Black or Asian drivers or conductors. Non-white workers were only given other jobs, such as cleaning and repairs. The company said it was following the wishes of the white workers and the main bus union, the Transport and General Workers' Union.
Key terms:
- Boycott: refusing to use or buy something, as a protest and to put pressure on those who run it.
- Race relations: how people of different races and ethnic groups get on with each other in society.
- Incitement to racial hatred: deliberately stirring up hatred against people because of their race.
- Race Relations Board: the body set up in 1965 to deal with complaints of racial discrimination.
In 1963 a young Jamaican-born man, Guy Bailey, was refused an interview for a job on the buses because of his colour. The West Indian Development Council, a local community group, took up the case. Its leaders included Roy Hackett, Owen Henry, Audley Evans and Prince Brown. Paul Stephenson, a local youth worker, became its public spokesman. They knew how Black people in Montgomery, in the United States, had boycotted the city's buses in 1955-56, and they decided to do the same.
The boycott began at the end of April 1963. Supporters refused to travel on Bristol's buses, and the story reached national newspapers and television. The company came under financial and public pressure, and its policy was shown up as unfair. Politicians, including the Bristol MP Tony Benn and the Labour leader Harold Wilson, spoke in support. The union came under pressure too, and it changed its stance. On 28 August 1963 the company agreed to end the colour bar. In September Raghbir Singh, a Sikh, joined the crews as one of the first non-white bus workers on the road.
🏢 Why it mattered
It ended the bar in one city and showed that ethnic minorities could organise a successful protest themselves. It also added to pressure on Parliament to pass a law.
The Race Relations Act, 1965
The Labour government under Harold Wilson passed the Race Relations Act in 1965. It was Britain's first law against racial discrimination. It made three main changes:
- It banned discrimination on grounds of colour, race, or ethnic or national origins in public places, such as hotels, pubs, restaurants, theatres and public transport.
- It made incitement to racial hatred a criminal offence.
- It set up the Race Relations Board, which looked into complaints and tried to settle them by persuading both sides to agree.
It was a signal that the government no longer accepted racism as normal. But it was weak. It did not cover jobs or housing, which were the places where discrimination did the most harm. A bus company that refused to employ Black crews, as Bristol did, would not have broken this law. The Board could not force anyone to act, and its main tool was persuasion.
Stronger laws: 1968 and 1976
📝 1968 Act
It extended the ban to jobs, housing, and goods and services, closing the gap left in 1965.
⚖ 1976 Act
It banned both direct and indirect discrimination, and set up the Commission for Racial Equality. Individuals could now take their own cases to court.
Indirect discrimination means a rule that looks the same for everyone but in practice puts people of one race at a disadvantage.
Change and continuity
This topic shows two of the themes of the whole period: protest and pressure groups and the role of government. Change came from both: a community campaign in 1963, then laws that grew stronger over eleven years. But laws did not end prejudice overnight. Complaints were still hard to prove, and attitudes changed slowly.
Common mistakes
- Saying the 1965 Act banned discrimination in jobs. It did not; that came in 1968.
- Saying the boycott led directly to the 1965 Act. It was one cause of pressure among several. Say it "added to the pressure".
- Saying the boycott used violence. It was peaceful, and that helped it win support.
- Forgetting the Race Relations Board's weakness: it could not force anyone to obey.
Exam-style question
This is a Paper 2, Section B type (b) question. Give two causes. Each needs precise facts and a clear explanation of how it led to the result. One cause alone can score at most 4 of the 8 marks.
Explain TWO causes of the end of the colour bar on Bristol buses in 1963. [8 marks]
Model answer
One cause was the boycott itself. From the end of April 1963, led by Paul Stephenson and the West Indian Development Council, many people refused to use Bristol's buses. This put financial and public pressure on the Bristol Omnibus Company, and it also brought national attention to its policy of employing no Black or Asian drivers or conductors. The pressure became too great, so the company agreed to end the bar on 28 August 1963.
A second cause was the pressure on the company and the union from politicians and the press. Tony Benn, the Bristol MP, and the Labour leader Harold Wilson spoke in support, and newspapers and television reported the dispute across Britain. This made the colour bar look unfair and embarrassing, and put pressure on the Transport and General Workers' Union to change its stance. Once the union moved, the company's main reason for the bar had gone.
What lifts it to the top level: each cause has precise facts (dates, names, groups) and explains how it led to the end of the bar, rather than only listing events.
Exam tip
For each cause, write the cause, a fact, and then a sentence beginning "This led to the end of the bar because...". Without that link you stay in the middle level.
Recap
- In 1963 the Bristol Omnibus Company employed no Black or Asian bus crews; a peaceful boycott led by Paul Stephenson and others ended the bar on 28 August 1963.
- The Race Relations Act (1965) banned discrimination in public places and incitement to racial hatred, and set up the Race Relations Board.
- It was limited: no jobs or housing, and the Board could only persuade.
- The 1968 Act covered jobs and housing; the 1976 Act banned indirect discrimination and set up the Commission for Racial Equality.