Turning Public Opinion on Immigration: the British Conservative Party and the Expulsion of Ugandan Asians in 1972

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the Ugandan Asians’ crisis of 1972, during which President Idi Amin expelled tens of thousands of Asian nationals from the country. It explains why Ugandan Asians held, against expectations and the UK government’s intention, British citizenship. Drawing on primary sources and the social science literature on ‘framing’, the article then explores how Britain’s Conservative government secured the support of an initially hostile public for its decision to allow the Asians entry to the United Kingdom. It argues that the Conservatives succeeded by framing the Ugandan Asians as middle-class, hard-working, skilled refugees, rather than as immigrants or British citizens, and Idi Amin as a murderous monster. The press played a vital role in the government’s success. The article ends by reflecting on the case’s implications for contemporary British immigration policy and the capacity of the state to generate support for open immigration.