Russell Hargrave

Drawbridge Britain Russell Hargrave

Modern Britain is obsessed with immigration. Politicians make promises about it. Journalists write countless stories about it. We gossip about it on the bus and in the pub. Everyone has an opinion. Drawbridge Britain tells the story of that obsession, from panic in Whitehall when the Windrush docked in 1948 to a Brexit vote driven by fear and mistrust of newcomers. It is the story of how successive governments have made life difficult for immigrants, long before Theresa May unveiled her hostile environment policies, and how British residents and their newest neighbours have managed often against the odds to build their lives together. And Russell Hargrave asks: If Britain is going to secure a happier, liberal future in an age of immigration, what needs to happen next?