Reform person says I'm not necessarily British although born in UK. How can I tell?

You can renounce your British citizenship quite easily. Info here: https://www.gov.uk/renounce-british-nationality

China doesn’t allow dual citizenship so if you’re British to British parents and born in China then you would still be British.

But for Irish citizens of course, there is the longstanding Common Travel Area agreement, which guarantees our right to live and work in Britain, as it does the other way around for British citizens and Ireland.
Reform would be even more foolish than we thought were they to undermine that setup while Britain still occupies the Six Counties, and where the fragile peace must not be endangered by political showboating.
Reunification of the island (an inevitability in the near future) will depend on a placid relationship between our countries, and any rabblerouser who fanned the still-hot embers of old conflagrations here would deserve being strung up by his nipples.
(Or hers, in fact, given the quality of the women who’ve joined this rotten lot. Priti Patel can’t be far behind ‘em, and she advocated a second Great Famine for Ireland during the Brexit shenanigans)

My DCs were not born in the UK but are regarded as British because I am. Place of birth does not dictate nationality.

Read John Crace’s take on it. The btl comments on his column are always very enlightening, too.
This Reform twerp is characterised by Crace as ‘a media gobshite from GB News’, which should reassure you about Goodwin’s general intellectual heft and likely political career, OP.

(BTW though: are you not eligible for citizenship by virtue of long residence in GB, even if you fail on the descent or birthright clauses? Do pursue a passport)

www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/27/matthew-goodwin-gorton-and-denton-reform-uk-minorities

I’d go by whatever my passport says.

Everything else is so vague. I did one of those ancestry tests for fun and I was only 35% of my “actual” nationality (same territory, I mean). I was really surprised and found it quite curious/interesting. Just goes to show what a construct identity can be.

Me too. Born in the M.East to British parents who happen to be working overseas (various countries) for 10-odd years.
I think mum and dad registered me when we came back to the UK. Can't quite remember what they told me as a kid and both parent's have passed away. My birth certificate is in Arabic.

I also hope Reform are never allowed anywhere near power. But I do love marmalade and the occasional bit of marmite.

The most confusing one I've heard...
Father New Zealand
Mother Estonian.
Born in Cyprus.
Child is... British.

Because the father was serving in the British Army at the time.
Its not as simple as were you are born. My DD is 100% British despite not being born in the UK.

Its unfortunate though... sad to say, no one doubts when a White person says they are British. Any other ethnicity... you could be a descendent of royalty, Hugh Grant and a Pearly King/Queen, born on the Easter Dersingham set and some dickhead will still question you.

Legal citizenship depends? I was born overseas to a British mother and a overseas father but born in his country. That country granted me citizenship by birthright BUT I wasn't British by birthright. I am British by descent, as my mother is a British citizen by her birthright (born in Britain to British parents) so I am dual citizen.

Culturally, I've lived here most of my life, went to school/uni here, and totally consider myself British. But my daughter was born overseas (I lived overseas temporarily) and I couldn't pass on my Britishness to her - she got that from her dad (British born to British parents) as my Britishness is by descent and I can't pass that on. She is also British by descent and she'll need to consider that when she has her own children. She also wasn't eligible to be a citizen of the country she was born in, due to the visa status of me and her dad, so god knows what would have happened if her dad hadn't been able to pass on his "Britishness!".

So basically, where you're a legal citizen depends on the rules of the country you're born in and the country you live in, if not one and the same. If there is any doubt, check the legalities!! Culturally, people who live here and make their home here can consider them selves British and the more the merrier. But legally, just make sure you're safe if there's a chance Reform get in. I have already told my dad (ILR, not a citizen but lived here most his adult life) to become a citizen, just in case.

Germany has only recently in the last few years to change the rules to allow both birthright citizenship IF a non German parent had five years of legal residency, and to allow dual citizenship - previously you couldn’t have German citizenship if you held another.

So if your cousin was born now to a British parent with five years of legal residency they could have a German citizenship too.

I wouldn't think so. My cousin was born in Germany, his dad was in the British Forces. Hes a British citizen with a Britisb passport

They will probably make their own laws if they get in based on their own definitions. If they decide you are not sufficiently British I suppose you will be deported to a "safe country".

Would everyone else who was born there before 1946 also be British then?

If she has or is entitled to an Indian passport, yeah.

Is China not a nation?

Yes, as I said, it varies.

Joanna Lumley was born in British Indian in 1946, before independence. So she is British, born in what was then a British colony.

That's English not British

Why would you get kicked out if you are a British citizen?

The worry is if people like op and her family will be allowed to live in the UK under reform. So it’s about the legal definition. If you were born in the UK, you wouldn’t be considered a British citizen unless at least one of your parent is a British citizen or have a settled status.

In the US they still allow citizenship by birth, in the UK they changed the law in early 80s.

But did your Kenyan friends grow up there? Did they have Kenyan citizenship? Would you describe a person born in Britain to two ethnically and culturally Chinese parents, who left when they were four and grew up entirely ethnically and culturally Chinese, as British? When they have no British citizenship, or any link to Britain, other than they happened to have popped out here due to their parents' temporary posting?

Of course a person of any national or ethnic background who is born in Britain can be British, legally and culturally. As can a person who was not born anywhere near Britain, surely? Or do you think that it's all about place of birth, that someone born in say Kenya, or China, or Sudan cannot ever be considered British? I would argue the place they are raised and/or belong culturally matter far more than where they emerged.

If Sudan has birthright citizenship then he would be classed as a Sudanese citizen as well as British.

My DD was born in the US to one UK citizen (me) and one US citizen (DH)

She is therefore a duel citizen with both passports.

Because she is a citizen by descent she cannot pass her British citizenship to her own children unless she gives birth in the UK.

However she meets the conditions to pass her US citizenship on to children born anywhere in the world.

Unless the father of her children was a British citizen born in the UK and then their children can be both US and UK no matter where they are born. And in that scenario if they give birth to a baby in a country with birthright citizenship who are also okay with multiple citizenships the children could have three citizenships.

Like Kemi Badenoch’s mother?

I remember being told as a teen by a particularly obnoxious girl that I should be returned to Ireland with my family as my dad is Irish.

i am not sure how it worked in the 70’s. I know my dad applied for citizenship (after serving in the British army!) and was refused. I don’t know anything other than that as he died when I was very young.

i am uk born and have a British passport. Again I don’t know how that works, I sent in my birth certificate and got a passport.

to be honest, if reform did get in I would very seriously consider leaving the country. The very thing that allows me to leave- my Irish citizenship- is the reason they’d want me out.

This sounds like the sort of response someone who is trying to shit stir reform voters so that they can be oh so outraged and report back to mumsnet.

Of course there are some stupid reform voters just like there are for every party. Brain of Britain Lammy made it Deputy Prime Minister.