Push to add Black English and Asian English to England's census

Josh Babarinde, president of the Liberal Democrats, is pushing for England's census to offer Black English and Asian English as ethnicity options. He has tabled a 10-minute rule bill, a short-form procedure in the House of Commons, which is due to be backed there on Tuesday. The bill would require the ethnic group question in future censuses in England to give respondents in every category the option to identify as English.

Under the current census, the ethnic group question offers English only within the White category, according to the Office for National Statistics, the body that runs the census in England and Wales. Respondents from Asian, Black, mixed and other backgrounds can describe themselves as British, such as "Asian or Asian British", but have no option to describe themselves as English. The censuses in Scotland and Wales offer options such as "Scottish Asian" and "Black Welsh".

In posts on X on 8 November, Babarinde said his proposal would add Black English and Asian English options without removing any existing options. He also proposed Mixed English as a further option.

Several MPs from different parties have backed the change. Former deputy prime minister David Lammy, former foreign secretary James Cleverly, Conservative MP Mark Pritchard and Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat chair of the health select committee, are among those supporting the push. The bill is also backed by Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, Labour MP Adam Jogee and Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson. MPs backing the change say that 60% of England's World Cup squad would not technically be classified as English on the census under the current definition.

The census figures show the scale of the question. In Census 2021, 81.7% of usual residents in England and Wales, about 48.7 million people, identified their ethnic group within the high-level White category, according to the ONS. Campaigners and MPs supporting the change point to the roughly 5 million people, about 11% of the UK-born population in England and Wales, who come from a minority ethnic background.

The proposal has also drawn sharp public disagreement. Reform UK MP Suella Braverman, a former Conservative home secretary, said she did not consider herself ethnically English because of her south Asian heritage. Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf distanced himself from her view. Reform UK politicians have claimed that people from minority ethnic backgrounds cannot have English identity.