Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom

{{About||the history of the United Kingdom before 1922|Historical immigration to Great Britain|immigration after 1922|Modern immigration to the United Kingdom}}

A variety of ethnic groups have settled on the British Isles, dating back from the last ice age up until the 11th century. These populations included the Celtic Britons (including the Picts), Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Gaelic Scots, Norse, Danes and the Normans.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1288231.stm |title=Are the British a race? |last=Duffy |first=Jonathan |date=20 April 2001 |work=BBC News |access-date=5 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031216062022/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1288231.stm |archive-date=16 December 2003 |url-status=live}} Recent genetic studies have suggested that the prehistoric Bell Beaker influx and the Anglo-Saxon migrations had particularly significant effects on the genetic makeup of modern Britons.{{cite web|last=McNish |first=James |title=The Beaker people: a new population for ancient Britain |publisher=Natural History Museum, London |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2018/february/the-beaker-people-a-new-population-for-ancient-britain.html}}{{cite web|last=Coghlan |first=Andy |title=Ancient invaders transformed Britain, but not its DNA |publisher=New Scientist |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530134-300-ancient-invaders-transformed-britain-but-not-its-dna/}}{{cite journal|last1=Schiffels |first1=S. |last2=Haak |first2=W. |last3=Paajanen |first3=P. |title=Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon genomes from East England reveal British migration history |journal=Nature Communications |volume=7 |issue=10408 |date=2016 |page=10408 |doi=10.1038/ncomms10408|pmid=26783965 |pmc=4735688 |bibcode=2016NatCo...710408S }}{{cite journal|last1=Martiniano |first1=R. |last2=Caffell |first2=A. |last3=Holst |first3=M. |title=Genomic signals of migration and continuity in Britain before the Anglo-Saxons |journal=Nature Communications |volume=7 |issue=10326 |date=2016 |page=10326 |doi=10.1038/ncomms10326|pmid=26783717 |pmc=4735653 |bibcode=2016NatCo...710326M }}

William the Conqueror introduced the first Jewish settlers in England in 1070,{{Cite web|title=Jewish communities from the 1070s - Reasons for immigration in the Medieval era - OCR A - GCSE History Revision - OCR A |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zq9wbk7/revision/2 |access-date=2021-04-10 |website=BBC Bitesize |language=en-GB}} and later on, in the 16th century, the first Romani were introduced in Britain. The UK has a history of small-scale non-European immigration, with Liverpool having the oldest Black British community dating back to at least the 1730s, during the period of the African slave trade.{{Cite book|last=Costello |first=Ray |title=Black Liverpool: The Early History of Britain's Oldest Black Community 1730–1918 |publisher=Picton Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-873245-07-1 |location=Liverpool}} The oldest Chinese community in Europe, dates back to the arrival of Chinese seamen in the 19th century.{{cite web |url=http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.1369 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724204513/http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.1369 |archive-date=24 July 2009 |title=Culture and Ethnicity Differences in Liverpool – Chinese Community |publisher=Chambré Hardman Trust |access-date=9 March 2015}} In the 19th century, there was an increase of Jewish and Irish people living in Great Britain, with many settling in Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and in The East End Of London, where the ethnic dialects contributed to the formation of the Cockney dialect.

Since 1948 (and particularly from the mid-1950s), immigration from the West Indies and the Indian Subcontinent occurred in substantial numbers due to labour shortages in Britain after World War II.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2002/race/short_history_of_immigration.stm|title=Short History of Immigration |work=BBC News |access-date=18 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319224317/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2002/race/short_history_of_immigration.stm |archive-date=19 March 2011 |url-status=live}} Immigration started to increase in the 1950s and 1960s and the large influx of different cultures created different ethnic communities. However, instances of documented and perceived racism, and heavy-handed policing by the native English population, has led to a number of riots, most notably in 1958, 1981, 1985 and 2011. When Britain joined the EEC in 1973, the level of migration from Western European nations increased and migration from newer EU member states in Central, and Eastern Europe, have resulted in a large Eastern European population over the past two decades. However, after the Brexit Referendum in 2016, numbers began to decline once again.{{cite web|url=http://www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/briefings/migration-flows-a8-and-other-eu-migrants-and-uk|title=Migration Flows of A8 and other EU Migrants to and from the UK|first=Carlos |last=Vargas-Silva |publisher=Migration Observatory, University of Oxford |date=10 April 2014 |access-date=18 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402192046/http://www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/briefings/migration-flows-a8-and-other-eu-migrants-and-uk |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live}}

Sociologist Steven Vertovec presents the idea of superdiversity in Britain; this is a notion that states that the increasing population of ethnic groups and communities are creating new, and smaller, ethnic minorities in Britain. The dynamics of superdiversity influence the social and economic patterns of the United Kingdom and have created complex social frameworks.{{cite journal|last=Vertovec |first=Steven |year=2007 |title=Super-diversity and its implications |journal=Ethnic and Racial Studies |volume=30 |issue=6 |pages=1024–1054 |doi=10.1080/01419870701599465 |s2cid=143674657}}

{{Main|Classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom}}

File:2011 UK census ethnic group question.png |access-date=8 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402133953/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/harmonisation/primary-set-of-harmonised-concepts-and-questions/ethnic-group.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live}}]]

The definition of ethnicity has been defined as "the social group a person belongs to, and either identifies with or is identified with by others, as a result of a mix of cultural and other factors including language, diet, religion, ancestry and physical features traditionally associated with race".{{Cite journal |last=Bhopal |first=R. |date=1 June 2004 |title=Glossary of terms relating to ethnicity and race: for reflection and debate |url= |journal=Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health |language=en |volume=58 |issue=6 |pages=441–445 |doi=10.1136/jech.2003.013466 |issn=0143-005X |pmc=1732794 |pmid=15143107}}

The 1991 UK census was the first to include a question on ethnicity,{{cite web |date=December 2012 |title=How has ethnic diversity grown 1991-2001-2011? |url=http://www.ethnicity.ac.uk/medialibrary/briefings/dynamicsofdiversity/how-has-ethnic-diversity-grown-1991-2001-2011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724032955/http://www.ethnicity.ac.uk/medialibrary/briefings/dynamicsofdiversity/how-has-ethnic-diversity-grown-1991-2001-2011.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2015 |access-date=4 March 2015 |publisher=ESRC Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity}}{{cite journal |last1=Sillitoe |first1=K. |last2=White |first2=P. H. |year=1992 |title=Ethnic Group and the British Census: The Search for a Question |journal=Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A (Statistics in Society) |volume=155|issue=1|pages=141–163 |doi=10.2307/2982673 |jstor=2982673 |pmid=12159122}} before which the census asked country of birth.{{Cite web |last=Service |first=UK Data |title=Census forms |url=https://ukdataservice.ac.uk/learning-hub/census/resources/census-forms/ |access-date=2025-05-27 |website=UK Data Service |language=en-US}} The 2001 UK Census classified ethnicity into several groups: White, Black, Asian, Mixed, Chinese and Other.{{cite web |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/about-statistics/classifications/archived/ethnic-interim/presenting-data/index.html |title=Presenting ethnic and national groups data |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=11 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302181740/http://www.ons.gov.uk/about-statistics/classifications/archived/ethnic-interim/presenting-data/index.html |archive-date=2 March 2009 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/ethnic_group_statistics/how_define/default.asp |title=How do you define ethnicity? |date=4 November 2003 |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=11 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327060339/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/ethnic_group_statistics/how_define/default.asp |archive-date=27 March 2008}} These categories formed the basis for all National Ethnicity statistics until the 2011 Census results were issued. A number of academics have pointed out that since 1991, the ethnicity classification employed in the census, alongside other official statistics in the UK have high levels of confusion regarding the concepts of ethnicity and race.{{cite journal |title=Negotiating race and ethnicity: Exploring the implications of the 1991 census |first=Roger |last=Ballard |journal=Patterns of Prejudice |volume=30 |issue=3 |year=1996 |pages=3–33 |doi=10.1080/0031322X.1996.9970192 |url=http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/288/1/negotiating.pdf |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411222451/http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/288/1/negotiating.pdf |archive-date=2019-04-11 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |title=Census and Identity: The Politics of Race, Ethnicity, and Language in National Censuses |chapter=Censuses, identity formation, and the struggle for political power |year=2002 |first1=David I. |last1=Kertzer |first2=Dominique |last2=Arel |editor1-first=David I. |editor1-last=Kertzer |editor2-first=Dominique |editor2-last=Arel |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=1–42}} David I. Kertzer and Dominique Arel argue that this is the case in many censuses, and the definition of ethnicity should first be illuminated. User consultation undertaken for the purpose of planning the 2011 census revealed that some participants thought the "use of colour (White and Black) to define ethnicity is confusing or unacceptable".{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/the-2011-census/2011-census-questionnaire-content/final-recommended-questions-2011---ethnic-group.pdf |title=Final recommended questions for the 2011 Census in England and Wales: Ethnic group |publisher=Office for National Statistics |date=October 2009 |access-date=4 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924075241/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/the-2011-census/2011-census-questionnaire-content/final-recommended-questions-2011---ethnic-group.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=live}}

File:Non-white in the 2011 census.png

{{Further|Demographics of the United Kingdom#Ethnicity and race}}

The population of the United Kingdom and its constituent countries are ethnically diverse today. From the beginning of modern migration to the country, the White population has been in proportional decline; however, the question of ethnicity was only first asked in the 1991 census. The four pie charts below show the ethnic make up of the United Kingdom as a whole and each of its constituent countries over time.

File:Ethnic demography of the United Kingdom from 1951 - 2021.gif|{{Flag icon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom

File:Ethnic demographics of England from 1981 - 2021.gif|{{Flag icon|England}} England

File:Ethnic demography of Wales from 1981 – 2021.gif|{{Flag icon|Wales}} Wales

File:Ethnic demography of Scotland from 1981 – 2011.gif|{{Flag icon|Scotland}} Scotland

File:Northern Ireland ethnic demography 2001 to 2021.gif|Northern Ireland

The British government recognises the Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Cornish peoples as national minorities under the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which the UK signed in 1995 and ratified in 1998.{{cite news |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cornish-granted-minority-status-within-the-uk |title=Cornish granted minority status within the UK |publisher=Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government |date=24 April 2014 |access-date=10 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113175105/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cornish-granted-minority-status-within-the-uk |archive-date=13 January 2016 |url-status=live}}

It is estimated that in 1950 there were no more than 20,000 non-white residents in the United Kingdom, almost all having been born outside the UK and now mainly residing in England.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mmaRpUa1oSoC |title=The Demographic Characteristics of Immigrant Populations |last1=Haug |first1=Werner |last2=Compton |first2=Paul |last3=Courbage |first3=Youssef |date=2002 |publisher=Council of Europe |isbn=9789287149749 |language=en}}

However, the considerable migration after World War II increased the ethnic and racial diversity of UK, especially in London. The race relations policies that have been developed broadly reflect the principles of multiculturalism, although there is no official national commitment to multiculturalism.{{cite book|last=Favell |first=Adrian |title=Philosophies of Integration: Immigration and the Idea of Citizenship in France and Britain |publisher=Palgrave |location=Basingstoke |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-312-17609-9}}{{cite book|last=Kymlicka |first=Will |title=Multicultural Odysseys: Navigating the New International Politics of Diversity |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2007 |page=72 |isbn=978-0-19-928040-7}}{{cite journal|last=Panayi |first=Panikos |year=2004 |title=The evolution of multiculturalism in Britain and Germany: An historical survey |journal=Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development |volume=25 |issue=5/6 |pages=466–480 |doi=10.1080/01434630408668919 |s2cid=146650540}}

The national identity of 'being British' is to respect the laws and parliamentary structures, as well as all maintaining the right to equality; however, this does not cover the concept of multiculturalism. This concept of 'being British' faces criticism on the grounds that it has failed to sufficiently promote social integration,.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3596047.stm|title=Race chief wants integration push |date=3 April 2004 |work=BBC News |access-date=4 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061222131652/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3596047.stm |archive-date=22 December 2006 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3600791.stm |title=So what exactly is multiculturalism? |date=5 April 2004 |work=BBC News |access-date=4 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202125204/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3600791.stm |archive-date=2 February 2009 |url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4740633.stm |title=Davis attacks UK multiculturalism |date=3 August 2005 |work=BBC News |access-date=4 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113021729/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4740633.stm |archive-date=13 January 2008 |url-status=live}} Some commentators have questioned the dichotomy between diversity and integration. and since 2001 it has been argued that the UK government has moved away from policy characterised by multiculturalism, and towards the assimilation of minority communities.{{cite web |url=http://www.york.ac.uk/ipup/projects/raceandfaith/discussion/bam-hutchison.html |title= Race, Faith, and UK Policy: a brief history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605081638/http://www.york.ac.uk/ipup/projects/raceandfaith/discussion/bam-hutchison.html |website=University of York |archive-date=5 June 2011 |access-date=27 October 2016}}

In 2016, the British government held a European Union membership referendum. The result of the referendum showed that 51.9% of British voters wanted to leave the EU.{{cite book |last1=Uberoi |first1=Elise |title=European Union Referendum 2016 |date=29 June 2016 |publisher=House of Commons |url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7639/CBP-7639.pdf |ref=CBP 7639}} On 31 January 2020, the deal was reached for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to leave the EU on 1 January 2021, also known as Brexit, with terms being agreed to on 24 December 2020. Some have said that Brexit limits multiculturalism and encourages exclusive nationalism and nativism; however, some feel that Brexit supports traditional British identity.

{{See also|Criticism of multiculturalism}}

{{Updatesection|date=April 2025}}

File:The First Minister's Diwali Message.webm, First Minister at the Welsh Government in November 2020 wishes a Happy Diwali to all those celebrating in Wales and the rest of the world.]]

A poll conducted by MORI for the BBC in 2005 found that 62 per cent of respondents agreed that multiculturalism made the UK a better place to live, compared to 32 percent who saw it as a threat.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4137990.stm |title=UK majority back multiculturalism |date=10 August 2005 |work=BBC News |access-date=4 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326073631/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4137990.stm |archive-date=26 March 2009 |url-status=live}} In contrast, Ipsos MORI data from 2008 showed that only 30 per cent saw multiculturalism as making the UK a better place to live, with 38 per cent seeing it as a threat. 41 per cent of respondents to the 2008 poll favoured the development of a shared identity over the celebration of diverse values and cultures, with 27 per cent favouring the latter and 30 per cent undecided.{{cite web |url=http://www.ipsos-mori.com/_assets/pdfs/Multiculturalism-Briefing.pdf |title=Doubting multiculturalism |date=May 2009 |work=Trend Briefing 1 |publisher=Ipsos MORI |page=3 |access-date=4 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108015046/http://www.ipsos-mori.com/_assets/pdfs/Multiculturalism-Briefing.pdf |archive-date=8 January 2010 }}

A study conducted for the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in 2005, found that in England, the majority of ethnic minority participants called themselves British, whereas white English participants said English first and British second. In Wales and Scotland the majority of white and ethnic minority participants identified with Welsh or Scottish first and British second.{{cite web|url=http://old.ethnos.co.uk/what_is_britishness_CRE.pdf |title=Citizenship and belonging: What is Britishness? |last=ETHNOS Research and Consultancy |date=November 2005 |publisher=Commission for Racial Equality |page=37 |access-date=24 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823153515/http://old.ethnos.co.uk/what_is_britishness_CRE.pdf |archive-date=23 August 2011}} Research suggests that on average ethnic minorities are twice as likely to say their ethnicity is important to them than white British participants, although the extent of this difference also interacted with political beliefs.{{cite report |author=Míriam Juan-Torres |author2=Tim Dixon |author3=Arisa Kimaram |date=October 2020 |chapter-url=https://www.britainschoice.uk/ |title=Britain's Choice: Common Ground and Division in 2020s Britain |chapter=Britain's Core Beliefs |page=26}}

Other research conducted for the CRE found that white participants felt that there was a threat to Britishness from large-scale immigration, claiming that they perceived ethnic minorities made a rise in moral pluralism and political correctness. Much of this frustration was directed at Muslims rather than minorities in general. Muslim participants in the study reported feeling victimised and stated that they felt the pressure of choosing between Muslim and British identities, whereas they saw it possible to be both.{{cite web|url=http://old.ethnos.co.uk/decline_of_britishness.pdf |title=The decline of Britishness: A research study |last=ETHNOS Research and Consultancy |date=May 2006 |publisher=Commission for Racial Equality |page=4 |access-date=24 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823153440/http://old.ethnos.co.uk/decline_of_britishness.pdf |archive-date=23 August 2011}}

{{See also|List of ethnic minority politicians in the United Kingdom}}

Ethnic minorities have been under-represented in comparison with their white counterparts in the United Kingdom's political system, particularly in the British Parliament.{{Cite journal |last1=Fieldhouse |first1=E. |last2=Sobolewska |first2=M. |date=1 April 2013 |title=Introduction: Are British Ethnic Minorities Politically Under-represented? |url=https://academic.oup.com/pa/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/pa/gss089 |journal=Parliamentary Affairs |language=en |volume=66 |issue=2 |pages=235–245 |doi=10.1093/pa/gss089 |issn=0031-2290|url-access=subscription }} In 1981, the Home Affairs Select Committee report stated that an "increase in ethnic minority involvement in politics will create ... special representation for ethnic minorities".{{Cite book |title=Ethnic Minorities, Electoral Politics and Political Integration in Britain |last=Adolino |first=Jessica |publisher=Pinter |year=1998 |location=London |pages=43–53}} However, in 2017 Theresa May stated that ethnic minorities were still under-represented.{{Cite news |url=https://www.localgov.co.uk/Ethnic-minorities-under-represented-in-public-sector-leadership-roles-PM-says/43963 |title=Ethnic minorities 'under-represented' in public sector leadership roles, PM says |last=Eichler |first=William |date=October 2017 |work=LocalGov |access-date=26 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206145305/https://www.localgov.co.uk/Ethnic-minorities-under-represented-in-public-sector-leadership-roles-PM-says/43963 |archive-date=2018-12-06 |url-status=live}} In 2019, 65 Members of Parliament (MPs) or 10% of all MPs were from an ethnic minority background.{{Cite book |last=Uberoi |first=Elise |url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01156/SN01156.pdf |title=Ethnic diversity in politics and public life |publisher=The House of Commons |year=2021}}

Representation of ethnic minorities in Parliament began in 1987, seeing four ethnic minorities being elected into parliament. Among them was Diane Abbott, Britain's first black female Member of Parliament, who began as a member of the shadow cabinet and was a prominent figure within the Labour Party.{{Cite web|title=Diane Abbott MP |url=https://www.dianeabbott.org.uk/ |access-date=10 April 2021 |website=www.dianeabbott.org.uk}}

Prior to the 2010 elections, the Conservatives had 2 MPs who were minorities; this increased to 11 after the 2010 General Election.{{Cite web |url=https://www.ukren.org/uploads/sn01156.pdf|title=Ethnic Minorities in Politics, Government and Public Life |last1=Wood |first1=John |last2=Cracknell |first2=Richard |date=October 2013 |website=House of Commons Library |page=4 |access-date=12 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707095806/http://www.ukren.org/uploads/sn01156.pdf |archive-date=2015-07-07 |url-status=live}} After the 2017 General Elections, 52 minority MPs were elected, shared between Labour (32) and the Conservative (19) and one from the Liberal Democrats.{{Cite journal |url=https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7483|title=Social background of MPs 1979-2017 |last1=Audickas |first1=Lukas |last2=Cracknell |first2=Richard |date=November 2018 |website=House of Commons library |access-date=12 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203084356/http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7483 |archive-date=3 February 2016 |url-status=live}} The 2019 general elections showed an increase in these numbers with Labour having 41, the Conservatives having 22 and the Liberal Democrats having 2 ethnic-minority MPs.

In 2018, 3.7% of all local government officials had an ethnic minority background.{{Cite web|url=https://green-park.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GP-Local-Gov-Leadership-2018.pdf |title=Local Government Leadership 2018 |last1=Lupin |first1=Neil |last2=Tulsiani |first2=Raj |date=2018 |website=Green Park |access-date=12 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206145413/https://green-park.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GP-Local-Gov-Leadership-2018.pdf |archive-date=2018-12-06 }} London councils had the highest percentage for representation in their local councils in late 2017, 10.5%; this increased from 5.6% previously in the year. Outside London, councils have an average of 3% minority representation. In Scotland, 3.2% of local government officials are ethnic minorities, almost proportionately representing the 3.32% ethnic minority.{{Cite news |url=http://www.improvementservice.org.uk/documents/research/scotlands-councillors-2017-22.pdf |title=Scotland's Councillors 2017-22 |author=Scottish Government |date=2017 |work=Improvement Service |access-date=12 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206192602/http://www.improvementservice.org.uk/documents/research/scotlands-councillors-2017-22.pdf |archive-date=6 December 2018 |url-status=live}}

Since the 1980s, the number of minority councillors has been increasing over time, however, the main parties of minorities involved were the Labour party, with 94.4% of minority councillors affiliated with the Labour Party.

There were 35 minority councillors in London local councils in 1978 and this had increased to 193 by 1990. This was 10% of the 1,915 councillors representing 20% of London's population. According to a Census of Local Authority Councillors in 2013, there was 3.7% representation for minorities across all councils, compared to a representation of 13% nationally.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/LGCL01/LGCL01.pdf |title=Census of Local Authority Councillors 2013 |last1=Kettlewell |first1=Kelly |last2=Phillips |first2=Liz |date=May 2014 |website=www.nfer.ac.uk |access-date=12 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330003437/http://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/LGCL01/LGCL01.pdf |archive-date=30 March 2016 |url-status=live}} Labour continues to have the largest proportion of ethnic minority councillors with 9.2%, followed by the Conservatives with 1.5%.

• Ethnic groups in London
• British people
• Demographics of the United Kingdom
• Foreign-born population of the United Kingdom
• Genetic history of the British Isles
• Historical immigration to Great Britain
• Modern immigration to the United Kingdom
• Languages of the United Kingdom
• List of electoral firsts in the United Kingdom
• Romanichal

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