Why have people moved to London since 1945?.
People of different ethnic origin moved to London after World War II for many reasons to do with politics, economy, social, cultural and religious factors. In 1945 these people came to London during the war as exiles or as refugees. Thousands of men and women had been recruited into the British armed forces during the war - some of them had served for Britain and were curious to see the country they had fought for.
Many people came to the U.K. to find work during 1945 - 1958. This was very significant as the government needed to recruit people to replenish the workforce, as Britain faced labour shortages after war. These shortages were made worse because many of the inhabitants of Britain were emigrating elsewhere. Workers were recruited from Europe and Britain's former Empire colonies to help rebuild Britain. .
The Polish were the first, mainly as a result of the connections made during the war years. However, more workers were needed. Thousands of refugees living in camps all over Eastern Europe emigrated to Britain during the 1950's. Another reason for these refugees's settling in Britain was because they came under special schemes for resettling people after the war between 1946-1950. After 1950, immigration was encouraged from Southeastern countries that were British colonies or in the Commonwealth, - this included India and Pakistan. This was again due to the labour shortages. After the partition of India, many people found themselves homeless, therefore by 1958; thousands of Asian's had come to Britain.
Another pull factor was the fact that the government legislated three times in less than a decade. The British Nationality Act made it easier for people to emigrate. This stated that British passport holders born overseas could settle in Britain if the firstly had a work permit, and secondly if they could prove that either a grandparent or a parent had been born in Britain.