Winston Churchill
Imperialism and racial views

Churchill was a staunch imperialist and monarchist, and consistently exhibited a "romanticised view" of the British Empire and reigning monarch, especially during his last term as premier. Churchill has been described as a "liberal imperialist" who saw British imperialism as a form of altruism that benefited its subject peoples. He advocated against black or indigenous self-rule in Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, the Americas and India, believing the British Empire maintained the welfare of those who lived in the colonies.

According to Addison, Churchill was opposed to immigration from the Commonwealth. Addison makes the point that Churchill opposed anti-Semitism (as in 1904, when he was critical of the proposed Aliens Bill) and argues he would never have tried "to stoke up racial animosity against immigrants, or to persecute minorities". In the 1920s, Churchill supported Zionism but believed that communism was the product of an international Jewish conspiracy. Although this belief was not unique among politicians, few had his stature, and the article he wrote on the subject was criticised by The Jewish Chronicle.

Churchill made disparaging remarks about non-white ethnicities throughout his life. Philip Murphy partly attributes the strength of this vitriol to an "almost childish desire to shock" his inner circle. Churchill's response to the Bengal famine was criticised by contemporaries as slow, a controversy later increased by the publication of private remarks made to Secretary for India Leo Amery, in which Churchill allegedly said aid would be inadequate because "Indians breeding like rabbits". Philip Murphy says that, following the independence of India in 1947, Churchill adopted a pragmatic stance towards empire, although he continued to use imperial rhetoric. During his second term as prime minister, he was seen as a moderating influence on Britain's suppression of armed insurgencies in Malaya and Kenya; he argued that ruthless policies contradicted British values and international opinion.
punctuation:no_comma