It’s not true that only 8.2% of Leicester’s population identifies as ‘British’

Posts shared on Facebook have claimed that “8.2% of the population of Leicester” identifies as “British”.

This is false. Data from the 2021 Census shows that over half of Leicester’s population identifies as “British”. 

The claim appears to stem from a slightly different claim made earlier this month by a guest on a GB News programme presented by Nigel Farage. The guest claimed that 2021 Census data showed “only 8.2% of people in Leicester now class themselves as English”.

It is true that census data shows 8.2% of Leicester residents gave “English” as their only national identity. A further 8.2% identified as “English and British”, meaning a total of 16.4% of people in Leicester said either part or all of their national identity was “English”.

However, when looking at those who identified as “British”, as is stated in the Facebook posts, 55.8% gave this as their only national identity, with a further 8.3% listing “British” alongside another national identity.

This means a total of 64.1% of people in Leicester said either part or all of their national identity was “British”.

In total, approximately three quarters (76%) of the city’s population listed some form of UK identity (English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish, British or a combination of these) as their national identity. This includes 0.1% who listed “Irish” alongside some form of UK identity as well, and 3% who listed another national identity alongside some form of UK identity.

We’ve previously fact checked a number of claims about ethnic or national identity in UK cities, often based on misinterpreted census data.

Image courtesy of DougPR