Petition · past parliament · Cabinet Office

Change Government guidance on listing ethnic groups to be more inclusive

Closed 52 signatures

What the petition asks

Currently Government recommendations on ethnicity categories mean only white people are given the option to say they are English, Scottish, NI or Welsh, despite there being a number of minorities born here in the UK, and it’s time to change that.
The ethnic groups the Government recommends be used must change to allow people of any ethnicity to state they are English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British.

The fact that we can be born in the UK but not given the option to say you are English, Scottish, NI or Welsh is as archaic as colonialism itself and invites racism. This needs to change if we are to dismantle racism at government level.

Timeline

27 Apr 2021 Petition opened for signatures
27 Oct 2021 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 52
Status Closed
Department Cabinet Office
Opened 27 Apr 2021
Closed 27 Oct 2021

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.