Commuters passing through Liverpool Street Station may pass by a bronze sculpture, “The Arrival.” It commemorates the “Kindertransport”, the influx of 10,000 Jewish children from eastern Europe who arrived at the station in 1938-39. Over 80 years later, more refugees from eastern Europe find themselves with their lives imperilled. As the government today unveils its “Homes for Ukraine” scheme, we would do well to remember London’s record as a haven for refugees fleeing persecution.
Travel from the city to the West End, and another monument tells the story of London welcoming escaping immigrants. Above the archway of the French Protestant Church in Soho Square is a sculpture recalling the Huguenot migration to London. When King Louis XIV of France restricted their freedom of worship, an estimated 50,000 Huguenots settled in England in the seventeenth century. Indeed the term refugee was first used to describe this group, derived from the French word ‘réfugié’ for hiding place. In more recent times, London and others parts of the UK welcomed Ugandan Asians fleeing the brutal regime of Idi Amin in 1972, and in the past few years, small numbers of Syrian and Afghan refugees.
Due to its tolerance, openness and prosperity, London has been a magnet for migrating groups. Their arrival has often been precipitated by violence back home, but at other times the decision to come has been more gradual and bound up with the search for a better life. London’s history has been characterised by immigrants, from an eclectic range of countries, ethnicities and races. The Norman invasion of 1066, led by William the Conqueror, saw the arrival of a group of immigrants, whilst the slave trade led to the movement of thousands of people from Africa. Thousands of Irish people arrived, as result of the potato famine in the 1840s, as well as Protestants from the Low Countries who were instrumental in the Industrial Revolution.
The post-War period saw an influx of the “Windrush” from the Caribbean and Asians from former British colonies. Today is Commonwealth Day, which provides an opportunity to celebrate these diaspora communities, which include over half a million British Indians in London. Membership of the EU from 1972 onwards also resulted in immigrants from other member states, which was most pronounced after the enlargement to eight new central and eastern European member states in 2004. The “Polish plumber” became the symbol of this wave of hard-working and industrious migration. All these examples highlight that London has been enriched by the arrival and contribution of people from many different countries and cultures over time.
With the situation in Ukraine worsening by the day, London and the UK need to be at the forefront of the community of cities and nations responding. Two million refugees have already left Ukraine and this is expected to double within weeks.
Our response to the humanitarian crisis should be led by our hearts, but also passes the “heads test.” The plight of people who need to leave their homes to save their lives should tug at even the most hardened of characters. At the same time, refugees tend to prove their economic worth over time. Five years ago, research showed that nearly half of the businesses in London’s Tech City were founded by foreign-born entrepreneurs, including the likes of Deliveroo and Wise. One of the songs in “Hamilton” contains the powerful line “Immigrants - We Get The Job Done” – and you can see the point.
London, therefore, has taken in refugees and migrants over the ages. This has shaped its status as one of the most diverse cities in the world, with 37% of its population born outside the UK.
Boris Johnson is a biographer and known admirer of Winston Churchill. In 1904, a young Churchill responded to the agitation caused by large Jewish migration fleeing persecution in eastern Europe at the time. He argued that the UK should not abandon "the old tolerant and generous practice of free entry and asylum to which this great country has long adhered and from which it has so greatly gained.” Ironically, the following year, the government passed the Aliens Act, which introduced immigration controls. The generosity of the spirit identified by Churchill and on display at Liverpool Street Station and in Soho Square is something to draw on in the present Ukrainian refugee crisis.
