
20th April 1968: Enoch Powell delivers his controversial “Rivers of Blood” speech on immigration
From HistoryPod by Scott Allsop
April 20, 2026
About this episode
The episode discusses Enoch Powell's controversial 'Rivers of Blood' speech delivered on April 20, 1968, focusing on immigration and its implications for social tension in Britain.
Powell argued that continued immigration would create social tension in Britain, illustrating his argument with a quotation from the Roman poet Virgil describing a vision of “the River Tiber foaming with much ...
People in this episode
Host: Scott Allsop
Topics covered
- immigration
- social tension
- political speech
- history
- Enoch Powell
- Virgil
Keywords
- Enoch Powell
- Rivers of Blood
- immigration
- social tension
- Virgil
- political speech
- history
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Rivers of Blood
Places: Britain, River Tiber
More episodes of HistoryPod
- 12th June 1987: Ronald Reagan calls on Mikhail Gorbachev to ‘Tear down this wall!’ · June 12, 2026
- 11th June 1837: Broad Street Riot takes place in Boston, Massachusetts, between Irish immigrants and existing American citizens · June 11, 2026
- 10th June 1605: False Dmitry I enters Moscow and is recognised as tsar following the death of Boris Godunov · June 10, 2026
- 9th June 1815: ‘Final Act’ of the Congress of Vienna signed, nine days before Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo · June 9, 2026
- 8th June 793: Viking raiders attack Lindisfarne in Northumbria · June 8, 2026
- 7th June 1788: Day of the Tiles breaks out in the French city of Grenoble, serving as an early precursor to the French Revolution · June 7, 2026
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the HistoryPod podcast page.