ABSTRACT
Enoch Powell has always been depicted by his obituaries or biographies as “a political enigma”, “a politician full of contradictions”, or “a political maverick epitomizing great complexity”. Powell himself was responsible for the whole hysteria that the speech stirred, then the media gave it its apocalyptic flavour by calling it the “Rivers of Blood” speech. Nicholas Jones has shown the behind-the-scenes role that his father played in promoting Powell’s ideas through an efficient media strategy. Historiographical debates have evolved again since the 40th anniversary of Powell’s Birmingham speech. Reterritorializing Powell also meant studying an area that has previously been under-researched – that is, Enoch Powell’s ideas on the Irish question. Chris Huhne accused Griffin of harnessing Powell’s rhetoric and ideas. The British National Party implicitly hammered anew the popular motto “Enoch was right” and presented Powell once again as a national hero. Besides, its official website includes a section called “legacy”.
