Without passing judgement on the views of another era, it is clear that MPs never envisioned the sort of inflow we have seen in the decades since.
One has to pinch oneself to remember that as recently as last July May was Prime Minister, Hammond Chancellor of the Exchequer and Gauke Lord Chancellor.
In his new book,Richard Ritchie tells the story of the Progress Trust, an influential group of Tory backbenchers set up during the Second World War.
If Powell is remembered only for his views on immigration, this will be a long way short of the whole story.
The moral strictures of hard-line green activists are no foundation for a sensible energy policy.