Campaign urges Brits to declare themselves ‘European’ on 2021 census

The responses stay on record for 100 years and help to paint a picture of the nation and how we live.

Postal packs with online codes for this year’s survey will start to land on doormats in the coming weeks, with the Office for National Statistics urging to respond on March 21.

Now campaigners from the ‘Stay European’ movement are lobbying supporters to declare their links to Europe as part of their identity.

The group has urged respondents to tick the “other” box and manually add in ‘European’ in answer to the question about how they identify, ignoring the standard options which include British, English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish.

“By writing ‘European’, you’ll be making it clear that you identify as European regardless of what your post-Brexit passport says,” a website explains. 

“It sends a message that you still see yourself as part of Europe, valued your European citizenship and want it back – either on an individual basis or by the UK rejoining the European Union.”

Already more than 14,000 people have signed a pledge to fill in the form with the modified answer.

Pro-European Chris Shaw tweeted: “Some respondents have identified their religion as Jedi previously. This has to be a more constructive way of making a point about how you feel about your place in the world.”

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Taking part in the census is a legal requirement with households facing fines of up to £1,000 if they do not participate or give false information.

The census website reads: “You must complete the census by law. If you do not, or if you supply false information, you could be fined up to £1,000. Some questions are clearly labelled as voluntary. It is not an offence if you do not answer these.”

A separate census for Northern Ireland and Scotland will take place over the next 12 months.