Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968
The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The Act amended the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, further reducing rights of citizens of the Commonwealth of Nations countries to migrate to the UK. The Act barred the future right of entry previously enjoyed by Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies, to those born there or who had at least one parent or grandparent born there.Impact
It was introduced amid concerns that up to 200,000 Kenyan Asians fleeing that country's "Africanization" policy, would take up their right to reside in the UK. The bill went through parliament in three days, supported by the leadership of both the governing Labour and main opposition Conservative parties, though opposed by Labour backbenchers, a few Conservatives such as Iain Macleod and Michael Heseltine, and the small parliamentary Liberal Party. The passage of the Act was among the most divisive and controversial decisions taken by a British government.Aftermath
The 1968 Act was superseded by the Immigration Act 1971.
