ABSTRACT
Prominent historians of British immigration have emphasised the value of looking at movement and settlement over the longue duree, producing far-reaching studies which push beyond the construction of migration as a post-1945 phenomenon. The chapter focuses on white migration within that period of post-war migration which is so often silenced by Windrush narratives. The first and most obvious explanation for the foregrounding of black histories in the post-war era is that scholars and other observers have believed that immigrant reception and outcomes were significantly shaped by colour. The view that colour was the marker of difference in a multicultural society had a resonance beyond Westminster and became a pillar of 'race relations' initiatives designed to support migrants and smooth tensions. The most frequently cited evidence of colour prejudice in the design of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act relates to its treatment of Irish immigration.
