Prime Minister Andy Burnham has signalled he would support a bill to let people describe themselves as Black English or Asian English on the census. He gave the indication at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, 11 November, after Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey asked whether he would back the proposal.

Mr Burnham told MPs he had not looked at the detail of the bill, but added: “I stand here thinking that I would want to support that bill, to directly take on the poisonous politics we've seen from some in this House who are seeking to divide us.” He did not say whether the government would give the bill parliamentary time.

What the bill would change

The English Ethnic Identity (Census Particulars) Bill was introduced on Tuesday, 10 November, by Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde, the member for Eastbourne, under the ten-minute rule. It would add Black English and Asian English as options in the census ethnicity question, ahead of the next census in 2031. At the 2021 census, English appeared only under the white category, so Black and Asian respondents could call themselves Black British or Asian British, but not English. Mr Babarinde, who describes himself as a proud Englishman with proud Nigerian heritage, has cross-party support, including from former deputy prime minister David Lammy and former Conservative home secretary Sir James Cleverly.

What happens next

The bill is due to return to the Commons on 23 April 2027, St George's Day, for its second reading, but it is unlikely to become law without government backing. The Office for National Statistics has been working on a new approach to asking about ethnicity in official surveys since 2022, with an update due to be published on Thursday.

Sources: The Times, Particle