A new parliamentary bill seeks to broaden the definition of English identity to include people from all ethnic backgrounds. Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne, Josh Babarinde, has introduced a 10-minute rule bill to address this issue.
The proposal has received backing from a range of MPs, including Labour's David Lammy and Conservative James Cleverly. The Prime Minister has also indicated support for the bill.
This initiative follows earlier calls for census options that would allow Black people in England to identify as English. In 2021, the then shadow justice secretary, David Lammy, appealed for such options, but the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated that "The evidence did not support a change to include Black English in England." This was despite the ONS recommending 'Black Welsh' and 'Asian Welsh' categories, with similar options in Scotland.
A 2025 YouGov study found that only 13% of adults in England believed someone had to be white to be English. However, 43% of UK-born ethnic-minority adults described themselves as either "British, not English" or "more British than English."