the "only box that says English sits under the white category".
MPs are calling for changes to the next UK census to allow people to identify as Black English or Asian English, arguing that existing ethnicity categories fail to reflect the country’s diverse population.
Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde has introduced a proposed bill that would expand the ethnicity options available in England, allowing people to describe their identity as English regardless of their racial background.
The proposal, dubbed the ‘St George’s Bill’, has cross-party support, including from Labour’s David Lammy and Conservative Sir James Cleverly.
It was tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, with Babarinde arguing that English identity should not be defined by skin colour or ancestry.
Babarinde said “most people” in the country believe “you don’t have to be white to be English”.
Introducing his private member’s bill (PMB) to MPs, Babarinde described himself as a “proud Englishman” with “proud Nigerian heritage”.
He said: “But my parents and I were born in England, we grew up in England, our home is in England, yet some voices attempt to reduce Englishness to a skin colour and to a bloodline.
“Well, if we’re going to go down that path, my mum’s side of the family has been English for as far back as we have traced.”
Babarinde also revealed that he had received “death threats for daring to say that you don’t have to be white to be English”.
Arguing that English identity has never been restricted to a single ancestry, he said “English ethnicity is real” and described it as a “matter of historical fact that it has never been one bloodline”.
He also pointed to the Royal Family’s German roots, asking MPs: “Is the King not English either, I ask?”
Under the 2021 census, the English ethnicity option was only available within the white category, something Babarinde believes needs to change.
He told MPs that the “only box that says English sits under the white category”.
He added: “If you are black, the form offers you black British, if you are Asian, it offers you Asian British, but not English.
“Now, the same question in the Welsh census offers a black Welsh category. In Scotland, the census offers Scottish Asian, for example.
“Yet the best that England offers in our census is a miscellaneous write-in box that may as well be the margin.”
Former deputy prime minister David Lammy has also backed the proposed changes, arguing that the current system does not allow people of mixed or Black heritage to fully express their identity.
In a statement, he said: “It is quite absurd that neither I or my mixed heritage children can describe themselves as black or mixed race and English on our census form.
“I have long campaigned for us to change to the position enjoyed by others in Wales and Scotland. We have to end this backward racial gatekeeping.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham signalled his backing.
Babarinde said he had introduced the bill because there were “some corners of our politics who are attempting to gatekeep Englishness for people who are a particular colour”.
He also criticised comments made by former Conservative MP Suella Braverman, saying there are “people like Suella Braverman who have really undermined and questioned the Englishness of people like me”.
In 2025, Braverman, who later defected to Reform UK, wrote in the Daily Telegraph that she was British Asian but said she “cannot claim to be English”, despite being born and educated in England.
Braverman also argued that “Englishness is an ethnicity”, adding:
“There have been English people for centuries and we need to recognise this more if we are to start taking a more muscular approach to citizenship and nationality. And no, it’s not racist to say this.”
Babarinde introduced his proposal through the 10-minute rule process, which allows MPs up to 10 minutes to explain why they believe a private member’s bill should be brought forward.
No MP used the opportunity to deliver a speech opposing the proposal.
The bill, formally known as the English Ethnic Identity (census particulars) Bill, is due to return to the Commons on April 23, 2027, St George’s Day, for its second reading debate.
However, it is unlikely to progress further in its current form because of a lack of parliamentary time.
Private members’ bills allow MPs to raise issues they believe the government should consider and build support for proposed changes, although they do not automatically become law.
