ABSTRACT
In June 1964, a petition organised from Bradford calling for a complete ban on immigration for five years collected 6,000 signature in Smethwick. In the early days the story of Smethwick had more to do with the nefarious activities of men of the racist right than Peter Griffiths. Rather the focus of research must be the way in which these texts, in the first instance, that of Paul Foot's, seek to offer an interpretation and political explanation of the Smethwick phenomenon. The chapter argues that the social and political interpretation of Smethwick and Powellism which composes the substance of the 'received view' is largely determined by the logic and internal rules of combination of this interpretative schema. It describes both superficial and deeply ideological; it works because it allows a view of politics and an interpretation of events consistent with dominant discourses, of both Left and Right.
