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Senior cross-party MPs are calling to broaden the range of ethnicity options in the census to allow Britons to define themselves as both black and English.
Cross-Party Initiative for Inclusive Census
The cross-party push serves as a direct response to Reform UK politicians who have claimed that people from minority ethnic backgrounds cannot possess an English ethnic identity. Liberal Democrat president Josh Babarinde is launching the drive, receiving backing from prominent figures including former deputy prime minister David Lammy, former foreign secretary James Cleverly, Conservative MP Mark Pritchard, and Liberal Democrat health select committee chair Layla Moran.
The MPs argue that the current definition of Englishness on the census means roughly 60% of England’s World Cup squad would not technically be classified as English under official metrics.
Expressing his views, Babarinde said, as reported by The Guardian: “I’m a proud Englishman and Englishness is about more than the colour of your skin. 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.”
Debate Over Ethnicity and Identity
Parliamentarians supporting the proposed legislative change have criticized recent remarks made by Reform UK MP and former Conservative home secretary Suella Braverman, who stated she did not consider herself ethnically English due to her south Asian heritage.
Braverman previously stated that she avoids a lenient approach to ethnicity and citizenship, maintaining that Englishness constitutes an ethnicity tied to centuries of history requiring a stronger approach to nationality. These remarks motivated lawmakers to pursue changes to the next census to ensure Englishness is not categorized strictly within the white demographic.
Currently in England, the ethnic group question lists “English” solely within the “White” category. This persists despite approximately 11% of the UK-born population in England and Wales—totaling around 5 million individuals—originating from minority ethnic backgrounds.
While Asian, black, mixed, and other respondents can identify as British, such as “Asian or Asian British,” they lack the option to describe themselves specifically as English. This contrasts with census practices in Scotland and Wales, which offer choices including “Scottish Asian” and “Black Welsh.”
Legislative Push and Further Support
Babarinde is tabling a 10-minute rule bill to secure backing from fellow MPs. While such short bills rarely become law, lawmakers utilize them to draw attention to specific policy matters. The proposed legislation would mandate that future censuses in England provide respondents across all ethnic categories with the option to identify as English.
Additional support for the bill comes from Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, Labour’s Adam Jogee, and Liberal Democrat Munira Wilson.
Emphasizing the goal of the legislation, Babarinde stated, as reported by The Guardian: “This bill is about standing up to those want to gatekeep Englishness exclusively for white people and standing up to those who seek to divide us over who counts as English. This is about bringing people together around our shared Englishness.”
Meanwhile, Braverman’s remarks have faced internal pushback within her own political sphere, as Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf publicly distanced himself from her stance.
