Would you say non-white people born & raised in England are English?

[rack909]

Just thought I should hear people’s perspective on this.

Some say it’s an ethnicity, some say it’s a nationality & others say it’s both of them.

I personally think it’s both a Nationality & ethnic group.

If someone says they are from England, they are denoting their nationality as English even if they don’t say it outright. It’s the same thing.

Why or how is this even being questioned in 2026? I remember a thread a couple of months ago where a poster said she was born in China and because her parents had been working there for some time, she assumed Chinese nationality. She argued that she doesn’t consider herself to be Chinese, despite being a Chinese national because she is white. She then in turn said people born in the UK to non British parents should feel the same way because she would be laughed at if she said she was Chinese.

My argument in response to this was A) nobody would laugh at her but B) there’s no clear defined British race in the way there is a Chinese race. We’ve been invaded so many times of the years, we’re all just a random mash up of all sorts.

Our nationality is British, white or otherwise. English, Scottish, Welsh is heritage not nationality in my mind. If someone asks me my nationality I say British. If your ancestry is from elsewhere it’s up to you if you say English, ultimately again British would be your nationality

A caucasian person calling themselves Vietnamese because they happened to be born there. No, I haven't come across this.

I have already commented to say that of course they are English.

Reading the comments I am puzzled by people mentioning that they are not ''culturally English''.

What exactly is ''culturally English'' in 2026? a love of tea?

We don't live in the 1950s anymore. Thankfully.

I think so, but then I feel completely English and I am not ethnically Anglo really much at all. I am white, but not very Anglo Saxon. My ancestors were here before the Germans came.

But so what. It's an arbitrary measure, really. People in my genetic line lived in these isles before people in another one did. But why take that specific time as the cut off. Who was here 5,000 years ago, or 50,000. Populations are wildly mixed over an evolutionary timeline.

I think if you went to primary school in England and sang the songs of our people (Autumn Days, Last Christmas) then you're English. ;) If you sound English then you are, basically. It doesn't make sense to me that Rishi Sunak isn't English. That's like saying basically I didn't grow up in England because half my schoolmates were British Asian. But of course we were all in England and this is part of what England is like. We all did the maypole and played cricket in the park and had jubilee picnics. We definitely had curry at our picnics. That's very English. England and India have been in close cultural contact for hundreds of years. It's our history.

Possibly controversially, I don't really think you can become English as an adult, it's not like America where it's like a religion you can convert to. It's just a culture that you have or you don't. It's a neutral statement of fact in that way. It's just what happened.

But you can be a British citizen and also be from France or Nigeria or wherever, so there's a big inclusive lifelong category too. So I think that works quite well.

I wouldn't assume anything about how anyone else identified. However if you look at the national football, rugby and cricket teams we've had loads of great passionate players who are not white. How anyone could say these players are not English is baffling to me.

I live in an area of mostly second generation Asians. They consider themselves to be British rather than English.

Yes, of course they are English. Why would the colour of their skin mean that they are not English? Apart from the obvious answer that the people who believe that non-white people aren't English are racist.

@Greenwitchart - culturally English to me is Local English customs. Myself and dh who both grew up in Uk, grew up with a different day to day lifestyle and customs than our ds who’s growing up ‘English’ but in a different country. His lifestyle, food, schooling, and general day to day life is just different.

Of course they are why wouldn’t they be.

I would say it depends what the domicile of their father is at the time of their birth. If their father has always expressed a desire to “go back home” then no. If that child then grows up fully assimilated in English culture then yes they can be then seen as English, if they show alliance to something over the law of England and Wales, no they’re not English.

English isn't a culture or ethnicity, it's a term to describe which bit of the UK you were born in in terms of England, N Ireland, Scotland or Wales.....and also Cornish. Those areas might have a majority ethnic heritage like Celtic or Anglo Saxon it doesn't mean you need to share that that heritage to describe yourself as from there because we are a diverse country. The White British component of the UK isn't a homogenous ethnic group, we are made up of thousands of years of migration.

Ethnicity, culture and heritage can be complex. I was born in London and could he described as white British . However, I didn't live in London for very long so wouldn't describe myself as a Londoner but feel a huge familial connection to it. I actually lived in Cornwall for a long time but couldn't describe myself as Cornish either. I have always lived in England. From ancestry tests I have strong links to Germany and Ireland.

I am no more or less English than my friend who was born in London to mixed race Indian / White British (Scottish) parents. My friend still loves in London so would be more of a Londoner than me and may also describe themselves as having Indian and Scottish Heritage. We are both English and British.

I'd say they are British.
A bit OT, but it annoys me when forms ask for your ethnicity & "English, Scots, etc" is not an option. I tick "Other" then add English.

I'm a mixed ethnic background, one of my DPs is an immigrant, the other is white British although one of their DGPs was Irish, I was born and have always lived in the UK. I would never describe myself as English but would describe myself as British (and also the other nationality). I have a very strong sense of local identity related to the city in which I both grew up in and continue to live though which is a key feature of my sense of identity. Possibly even over and above the 'feeling' of British tbh.

I can't explain any of the above really but that's how I feel.

''@Caspianberg · Today 09:09
^ - culturally English to me is Local English customs. Myself and dh who both grew up in Uk, grew up with a different day to day lifestyle and customs than our ds who’s growing up ‘English’ but in a different country. His lifestyle, food, schooling, and general day to day life is just different''.^

The OP is talking about people born in this country, not abroad. So again why would they not be ''culturally'' English?

Yes

So if a non white person born in England is more likely to identify as British why is that? What is wrong with being English? How does being part of Scotland, Wales and Ireland as well as England make any difference to their identity when the natives of all for countries in the British Isles are white? What about non white people born in Wales or Scotland- are they also more likely to identify as British rather than Welsh or Scottish? What if the UK becomes four independent countries, what will they identify as then?

I have never heard anyone but a bigot say English is an ethnicity, because clearly it isn't.

If you are born here, or have English heritage or lived here for a while you can call yourself English if you want.

Ethicity doesn't mean race.

Anyone claiming English isn't ethnicity, should contact gov so they amend census forms....

Up to you to define.

Who do you support in cricket and international football?

I'm white British, though born and raised in England. I call myself British if asked abroad, or if asked where I'm from, say "The UK".

Lots of questions there. "What's wrong with being English" is probably my favourite...

I think the example of Hawaii is interesting. It's apparently not the done thing to claim to be Hawaiian just because you come from there if you are not ethnically native.
In the UK the opposite is true.

😅🤣