Philip Begley, The Making of Thatcherism: The Conservative Party in Opposition, 1974–79

experiences of the policy. Additionally, Esteves acknowledges that the backgrounds of those interviewed are not representative of those dispersed. About half of the interviewees are the children of Ugandan or Kenyan Asians. Although Esteves is correct in his assertion that their experiences are ‘without any doubt indicative of the general working of dispersal’ (p. 172), there is perhaps more to be said about the broader impact of the policy on their lives. East African Asians were, for the most part, Anglophone ‘twice migrants’, who were of middle-class background. Esteves has, unsurprisingly, found it easier to track down these interviewees. Beyond a brief discussion, there is no sustained attempt to consider how class may have mediated the impact of bussing. This may be a difficult question to answer, but in both Southall and Bradford, the children of working-class migrants were those who were the most affected. The difficulty in finding a representative sample is revealing in itself. One way of working through these challenges may be to think more about the imperial heritages that frame this bussing policy. Esteves, like Brett Bebber before him, has understandably been drawn towards the American resonances with this policy. While the United States provided a lens for policy makers in Britain, the fear of an American future of race relations was a spur to these attempts at ‘desegregation’. Esteves points out the flaws in these comparisons throughout the book. On the other hand, Esteves affords less prominence to the role that empire played in both making, and then resisting this policy. Those who campaigned against bussing frequently invoked empire and anti-colonial politics. For activists, bussing looked like a continuation of ‘divide and rule’. Both Southall and Bradford became home to left-wing, anti-colonial, black politics in 1980s. It is no coincidence that bussing preceded this development. Notwithstanding these criticisms, Esteves has completed a valuable piece of work. Bringing together a considerable amount of information and material, he has succeeded in shining a light on a neglected part of modern British history. It now falls to others to build on this endeavour.