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I grew up in the area of Barnet in the 1960’s
and studied in Nottingham University prior
to moving to Luton. At the time Luton was
a working-class industrial town, with a very
mixed population. The area of Bury Park
had mainly communities from Scotland,
Wales, and Ireland. It wasn’t until migration
from commonwealth areas began that
diversification of nationalities started.”

The notable changes in diversity are that now you witness people from the Pakistani and Kashmiri communities which
seem to be at large as opposed to 50 years ago when there were more Indian communities belonging to East Africa,
there is also a steady rise in the Bangladeshi population. I often think of Luton as a microcosm of the world. My first
ever connection to the Bury Park area was my wife who was a primary school teacher in the area. She worked in
Maidenhall primary school, which at the time was a predominantly white school, though there was some population of
other ethnicities. In the early 1970’s my brother also worked as a schoolteacher at Beech Hill School, which was then a
high school; this school had a growing Caribbean and Pakistani population. Hence as a result of this I had connections
with various communities despite living in the popular Saints area of Luton. I have been a member of the labour party
for a very long time. From the 1960’s to 1980’s I chaired the committee. Being a chair gave me the opportunity to meet
with members of the community who were under-represented therefore were a minority. I enjoyed working in this role.

One of my fondest memories is of a council bye election which took place in 1986, during a time in which I moved to
Alexander Avenue an area close to Bury Park, it was the time that the first Bangladeshi councillor was elected, Rameez
Ali. I have fond memories as I was involved in campaigning for the bye election and the election win was particularly
notable as it was the first time someone of a Bangladeshi ethnicity had been elected in the area for the area of
Bedfordshire. At that time my daughter who was 14 years old used to run the committee room, she used to support
the party from a young age. She is now the MP for Luton South, Rachel Hopkins.
I find that Luton is not populated with just one community, there is a lot of diversity for example it is not just south
asian but also people from the African continent that have chosen to reside in Luton. I have made many friends over
the years who both live and represent the area of Bury Park.
I think Luton is a wonderful microcosm of the world, it’s very important to bridge the gap between different
communities and living in Luton makes that easier this is because living in Luton we are able to understand what
happens in South Asia, Africa and in Europe, as well as other parts of the world, purely because we have the
opportunity to interact with people from those areas. Personally I have always enjoyed learning world affairs and
have had friends from all over the world. Building bridges is so important in today’s day and age as there are so many
divisions and conflicts therefore it is our responsibility to ensure that we are able to facilitate a peaceful world for the
future generations.
50 years ago, the diversity was different in that we had mainly people from the British Isles such as Scots, Welsh and
much later the Irish community. The Scots and Welsh came here for work opportunities for example Vauxhall Motors,
Luton was known for its industries. At the time General Motors employed about 30,000 people now there are under
hundred people left in the Vauxhall plant. The living standards in Luton have declined as a result people are moving to
London. I have personally campaigned for the rebuilding of industries to support salaries.

One of the great attractions of Luton was work, I had learned from time at my university that there were people who
had hitch-hiked all the way from Scotland to secure jobs at Vauxhall so that they could have secure futures in the
country, those people who managed to work in these industries secured jobs and became prosperous. Luton was very
much a Methodist town which later became a Catholic town with the Irish and Scottish communities. We can now
witness a growth in the Muslim population. It should also be noted that there used to be a Synagogue in Bury Park
which has now been converted into a mosque.
Kelvin Hopkins

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