Conclusion

This study demonstrates that anyone seeking to explain the 1964 general election result at Smethwick cannot assume, as McCallum and Readman warned, that ‘any one issue was decisive or dominant’. 1 A large number of factors shaped the eventual result, some historic, others contemporary, alongside multiple layers of press, political, and academic commentary, yet few have been fully examined. There was clearly more at play than just racial prejudice in Smethwick, but equally, any study needs to trace from where these concerns about migration originated, and the extent to which calls for increased controls appealed to voters. Throughout, this monograph has argued that, alongside understanding the demographic change in Smethwick, wider economic, social, cultural, and political changes shaped the outcome of the 1964 election there. The result can only be explained by taking a more disaggregated approach, seeking to understand the complex interplay of factors, pressures, organisations, individuals, and communities.