I see that Pugwash introduced Enoch. I wouldn't have done as he is still too controversial, but as he's been brought up I'll have my 2p worth.

I think Enoch chose his words poorly and brought on himself all the approbation he suffered for the rest of his life. He was a brilliant academic (as was Harold Wilson, though that's another matter) and was quite out of place in politics. As P1 pointed out, he was very successful in most things he did.

Except the one thing he is remembered for. He should never have entered politics. I think he never intended a simple classification based on colour, but he made the mistake of using the language of the day. Let's not forget what was going on in the USA when he was active. I believe he was warning against immigration so massive that the people concerned could not be assimilated and would necessarily form ghettos. Of course, there were and still are immigrants who have no intention of blending into the local population, and it was those people he thought should be sent back. I think he was right - it is these groups who are responsible for the "immigrant problem" as it is perceived. We now have the obvious case of some Muslims who refuse to integrate and want special schools/workplaces etc. With that attitude they will NEVER integrate. But of course they don't want to - their intention is to change British society to THEIR model We didn't have that problem in Enoch's time - there was a substantial Muslim population in the UK even then, but there was no Muslim "problem" as they were effectively integrated into the wider society. Sadly there now is a major problem.

Enoch was a visionary and I'm sure he had this sort of issue in mind, not the simple one of colour. What he was really concerned about was the breakdown of society, which has little to do with racial origins and everything to do with cliques and ghettos.

I know it's not "PC" to speak of Muslims as a group, and in fact in the UK what I've said so far would probably constitute a criminal offence, but I am sure it is the biggest social problem we have. It used to be said that there was a "Jewish problem", but in reality there never was, not in the UK at any rate. The number of strict Jews who refused to integrate was and still is tiny, so small a group as not to be an issue. Jews, Muslims, immigrants who do integrate and take part in the wider society they have been admitted to are not a problem - they become a part of society and greatly enrich it by their presence.

There is no such thing as a pure Englishman, any more than Hitler's Arians ever existed. Everyone is descended from immigrants whatever country they live in. You don't need to study European history for long to become quite confused as to what "nationality" means.

And finally, all colour means is that a person's ancestors came from certain parts of the world, where they were exposed to more or less direct sunlight. It is now believed that early humans were all "black" because they emerged in a hot climate. "Whites" emerged through genetic selection in those northern climes where there was no need for black pigment in the skin. It's the whites who are the oddballs, not the blacks.