Wales has more areas than England where ‘English-only’ is the largest identity group, census reveals
The only parts of England and Wales where ‘English only’ is the largest group are in Wales, according to the new census results.
There are four areas in Wales where those who told the 2021 census that they are ‘English only’ are the largest group, but none within England itself.
The Office for National Statistics breaks Wales and England down to over 7,000 Middle Super Output Areas, which all have a mean population of 7,200 people.
In Wales, four of these areas have more people identifying as English only than any other national identity – with one in the centre of Cardiff.
Another is in Conwy and two in Flintshire.
But there are no such areas in England, with British only dominating there.
Cardiff’s 32nd Middle Super Output Area, which surrounds Cardiff Castle, down to Bute Terrace and north-east towards student-heavy areas in Cathays is one area in Wales where the English only group are the largest.
2865 people there identify as English only, compared to 2425 who identity as Welsh only, and 2130 who identity as British only. 833 identify as English and British and 400 as Welsh and British.
Another area where English-only identifiers are the largest group is Conwy’s 5th area which takes up the west of Rhyl. 2,598 identify as English only there compared with the second largest group that identify as Welsh only at 2,370.
Flintshire has two areas near the border, the 9th and 15th area in the county. Part of the first is over the river Dee and includes the stadium of Chester Football Club, which was itself the subject of some wrangling over whether it was in Wales or England during last winter’s Covid lockdown.
The other takes up Saltney and Broughton which are on a main road into and just over the border to Chester.
There are other parts of Wales where English-only identifiers make up a larger portion of the population than Welsh-only identifiers, including Flintshire’s 11th area east of Hawarden, and the border area of Presteigne in Powys.
‘Shy’
In England, almost every area is dominated by the British only identity, while the fracturing between Welsh and British identities in Wales mean that the English only identify comes out as the largest group in some areas.
Furthermore, the organisers of the census said that English identity had taken a big hit in England because it appeared lower in the multiple-choice list than it did in 2011.
As a result, the number identifying as English in England fell from 60.4% to 15.3%.
However, the census form sent to people living in Wales kept the option of ‘Welsh’ identity at the top of its form for both the 2011 and the 2021 census.
This in part might explain why ‘Welsh-only’ identity remained roughly the same at 57.2 per cent in 2011 compared with 55.2 per cent in 2021.
One Conservative MP did however voice his concern that fewer people were now identifying as English.
Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, said: “It’s a sad fact that describing yourself as English has declined at such a rate when identifying yourself specifically as a member of the other nations of our great Union remains popular.
“However I am not surprised, as in my view quite wrongly all the negative history of our isles is dropped on the English, and its glories shared under the banner ‘British’. We are now in the era of the shy Englishman and woman.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Could also be known as “colonial hubs”. Frankly I’m surprised. Mid Cardiff has an ethnic mix but it confirms my suspicion that a lot of our ethnic diversity come here to become little Englanders and have little or no time for anything to do with Wales and Welshness. So, no different to most of the Sais that settle here.
Lots of students from across the border also presumably in that area, which could skew the statistics somewhat.
I bet you wouldn’t dare say that about those of darker hue.
Plenty of other clowns who do that. Lots of the Faragian right wing minions braying on that “white” is now a minority in London. Also why do you mention “darker hue”? English is a nationality. How they describe themselves is a choice. Skin tone (or what I suspect you want to call “race”) is not a choice.
Ethic mix covers a whole range of peoples. They can be very dark, very pale or any tint in between. It’s not the colour that bothers me. It’s the attitude they acquire or bring in with them. If their overriding aim is to be a good Sais then best they acquire the relevant traits in England not here in Wales. On the other hand some arrivals are keen to be part of the Cymry. We should do everything to integrate them. That is real enrichment.
Mid Cardiff is probably explained by students who come and go, but the north east is definitely a highlighter of English people moving to an economically active area in Wales, or benefitting from the proximity of Welsh areas to economically active areas in England.
Similar stories in other border towns to be fair though. Scottish border towns is another example.
No wonder. Colonisation. Aided and abetted by the Welsh Vichy Government
True.
I can only imagine the alarmist headlines in the Daily Mail, Express and The Sun if there was a ‘Welsh-only’ enclave in England. The presenters on LBC, Talk TV and GB News would be going apoplectic saying that the poor inhabitants of England were about to be subjected to Cymraeg “rammed down their throats”.
Not about Welsh but all the right wing organs have been shrieking about London not being majority white
If that doesn’t smack invasion by Generation, I don’t know what does! They have been trying to replace the natives on this island for centuries. Any self respecting nation would have safeguards in place to secure a future for its native people. But we hear in Wales, that’s just not nice enough outlook. We’d rather sacrifice our nation on the alter of being nice. But only nice to those that have done the most damage to us. It’s Hilarious what we let go.
Andrew Bridgen undoes his own argument. He’s lamenting the decline in people identifying as English only then bangs on about ‘our great Union’. If he’d just put down the Union Flag, pick up a Georgie Cross and advocate for an English ONLY Parliament, we’d all be a lot nearer to where we need to be and English people would be clear about their nationality.
The problem is England and the United Kingdom are treated as though as if they are one and the same. Their is no devolved English Government, the Westminster government acts as both the governments of England and the UK. The England team use the British Anthem and not an England only anthem, and it was only in the 90s that England fans started flying the Cross of St George instead of the Union Flag. How often when the Queen was alive was she referred to as the ‘Queen of England’? How often have I heard Germany’s defeat in 1945 was… Read more »
Before the UK was formed. The very word British was used insultingly by the English establishment and media towards Welsh and Cornish language