Senior politicians from across the UK political spectrum are calling for a change to the census to allow people of minority ethnic backgrounds to identify as English. The cross-party initiative aims to broaden ethnicity options beyond the current framework, where “English” is listed only within the “White” category.
Liberal Democrat president Josh Babarinde is leading the drive, with support from former deputy prime minister David Lammy, former foreign secretary James Cleverly, and Conservative MP Mark Pritchard. The group argues that the current classification system fails to reflect the diverse reality of modern England.
Cross-Party Bill on Identity
Babarinde is tabling a 10-minute rule bill on Tuesday to formalize the proposal. While such short bills rarely become law, they serve as a mechanism to raise specific policy issues and signal political intent. The bill would require future censuses in England to offer the option to identify as English to respondents in every ethnic category.
Support for the measure extends beyond the Liberal Democrats. Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, Labour’s Adam Jogee, and Lib Dem Munira Wilson have also endorsed the change. The MPs contend that the current system excludes a significant portion of the population from identifying with their national identity.
“I’m a proud Englishman and Englishness is about more than the colour of your skin,” Babarinde said. “Most people in this country already agree that you don’t have to be White to be English. Just look at the England football team. But our census hasn’t properly caught up.”
The MPs highlighted that under current definitions, approximately 60% of England’s World Cup squad would not be classified as English on the census. This stands in contrast to Scotland and Wales, where options such as “Scottish Asian” and “Black Welsh” are already available.
Response to Reform UK Claims
The push for change is a direct response to comments made by Reform UK MP Suella Braverman. The former Conservative home secretary stated that she does not consider herself ethnically English due to her South Asian heritage. She argued that Englishness is an ethnicity and that recognizing this is necessary for a “muscular approach to citizenship and nationality.”
Braverman’s remarks drew criticism even from within her own party. Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf distanced himself from the view, citing former footballer Ashley Cole as an example of an English player regardless of background. “The argument that he’s not English doesn’t hold water with me,” Yusuf said.
The current census structure in England allows Asian, Black, mixed, and other respondents to describe themselves as British, such as “Asian or Asian British.” However, they lack the specific option to identify as English. About 11% of the UK-born population in England and Wales, roughly 5 million people, belong to a minority ethnic background.
Babarinde emphasized that the bill is intended to unite people rather than divide them. “This bill is about standing up to those who want to gatekeep Englishness exclusively for White people and standing up to those who seek to divide us over who counts as English,” he said. “This is about bringing people together around our shared Englishness.”
Source: The Guardian
