Prime Minister Andy Burnham has signalled he could support a plan to let people identify as 'Black English' or 'Asian English' on the census. The move follows a private member's bill brought forward by Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde, who wants to challenge the idea that being English means being white.
St George's Bill seeks broader ethnicity options
Mr Babarinde's bill, dubbed the St George's Bill, would offer more ethnicity options on the census so Black or Asian people can define themselves as English. It comes after Reform MP Suella Braverman triggered fury last month when she suggested only white people can be English.
Pressed on whether he would back the bill by Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, Mr Burnham said: "I haven't looked at the detail of the Bill, but I stand here thinking that I would want to support that Bill to directly take on the poisonous politics that we've seen from some in this House who are seeking to divide us."
Cross-party support and criticism
Sir Ed told the Commons: "Our politics is being affected by poisonous ideas, like the idea that people born and raised in England can't be English because they're not white. Shamefully, even some in this House have argued for this racist ideology. We must reject it, as the Conservative leader (Kemi Badenoch), to her great credit, has done."
Asian, Black and mixed ethnicity respondents can currently describe themselves as British but not English. The census in Scotland and Wales offers options such as "Scottish Asian" and "Black Welsh".
Bringing forward the bill on Tuesday, the MP for Eastbourne said: "Do you have to be white to be English? This St George's Bill says no. I am a proud Englishman. I have proud Nigerian heritage."
Bill's prospects
Mr Babarinde said the census treated Black and Asian English people as "marginal", asking whether former prime minister Rishi Sunak and former deputy prime minister David Lammy, a co-sponsor of the bill, were only marginal to the country. He has said he has received death threats since introducing the bill.
The English ethnic identity (census particulars) Bill has received cross-party support, including from former Labour Deputy PM David Lammy and top Tory Sir James Cleverly. It is unlikely to become law without Government backing and is due to return to the Commons on April 23 2027, St George's Day.
