40 Years On

Most of the 39 people who died after entering the UK illegally a few days ago are thought to be Vietnamese. Mrs Thatcher was elected on 3 May 1979 with a large majority and a promise to curb immigration. But before the month of May was out she agreed that Vietnamese who had gone to Hong Kong be allowed to settle in the UK. It was obvious that once a community was established here that other Vietnamese would come. In 1980 I had legal aid for my divorce, so I applied for legal aid to bring a case of treason against Mrs Thatcher for allowing foreigners to live in the UK while Brits can't live in their countries. But the Law Society refused me the necessary Green Certificate. (Though legal aid is given for immigration cases.) 40 years ago in October 1979 a youngish man (me) cycled to London's Parliament Square in the pouring rain. The Press had said there would be a demonstration against Mrs Thatcher's election promise to stop foreign men from using marriage to live in the UK. There was not a soul around. Not even traffic. I left, but went back at lunchtime. It was just the same. No one. Still pouring heavily. On 30 October the Immigration Minister, Timothy Raison, announced the Government wouldn't be keeping its promise. When asked why by Douglas Stewart on Radio 4 "Tonight", he replied "Because of the fuss." The result is some 400,000 men (10,000 a year) live in these unfortunate islands. If they had all arrived at once perhaps people would have noticed.