MPs Push to Let Britons Identify as Black English on Census

A group of cross-party MPs is pressing to rewrite England’s census so people can call themselves Black English, Asian English and more, not just British. Lib Dem president Josh Babarinde is leading the charge and will table a 10-minute rule bill on Tuesday. The bill would require the ethnic group question in future England censuses to offer an English option in every category.

Babarinde has backing from a heavyweight list: David Lammy, James Cleverly, Conservative MP Mark Pritchard, Lib Dem health committee chair Layla Moran, Conservative Ben Obese-Jecty, Labour’s Adam Jogee and Lib Dem Munira Wilson. He framed the fight as a rejection of gatekeeping. “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.

The current census only lets people in England pick “English” under the “White” category. Asian, Black, mixed and other respondents can say “Asian or Asian British” or “Black British,” but they have no box for English. MPs say that means 60% of England’s World Cup squad would not technically count as English on the form. Scotland and Wales already offer options like “Scottish Asian” and “Black Welsh.”

The push is also a direct answer to Reform UK MP Suella Braverman, who said she does not consider herself ethnically English because of her south Asian heritage. Braverman argued Englishness is an ethnicity and rejected a “laissez-faire, anything-goes” approach to identity, citizenship and nationality. Her comments drew criticism even inside Reform UK. Party chair Zia Yusuf said Ashley Cole is English, adding that the argument otherwise “doesn’t hold water with me.”

Babarinde said most Britons already agree you don’t have to be White to be English, pointing to the England football team. About 11% of the UK-born population in England and Wales—roughly 5 million people—are from a minority ethnic background, according to the census context cited by the Guardian. Short bills rarely become law, but this one forces the issue into Parliament.