By Rakib Ehsan, spiked
Why can’t progressives accept that there is such a thing as English ethnicity?
In the latest reckless political foray into matters of identity in modern Britain, Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde is proposing legislation that would add ‘black English’ and ‘Asian English’ to the list of ethnicities on the Census. His St George’s Bill has been co-sponsored by Labour’s David Lammy and has also gathered support from former Conservative home secretary James Cleverley.
As it stands, ‘English’ is only an option in the ‘white’ category of the Census. Until five minutes ago, hardly anyone would have ever given this issue a second’s thought. But the question of who counts as English was thrust into the public spotlight in October, when Reform UK’s Suella Braverman said that she considered herself British, but not English. Progressive critics called her a ‘racist’ for supposedly excluding non-white people from defining themselves as English (even though she did nothing of the sort). Meanwhile, ethnonationalists and Restore Britain supporters balked at the idea that she would even describe herself as British.
While supporters of the St George’s Bill have suggested that these changes to the Census are inclusive and reflect the realities of modern Britain, all they will do is delegitimise the status of English people as a distinct ethnic group. This is especially problematic in an era of remarkable demographic change, in a country where the native population is in the minority across several cities and towns, including my hometown of Luton. While Babarinde’s efforts to add ‘Asian English’ and ‘black English’ may be seen as a way to suppress ethnonationalist thinking in England, they risk doing the opposite by hardening ethnic and racial consciousness among the indigenous population, many of whom already feel their identity is being denied by the state.