Speaker's corner: Is it time to abandon colour categories for ethnic groups?

The recently published questionnaire for the major test ahead of the 2011 population census for England and Wales disclosed new questions on national identity and languages, religion as asked in 2001, and minimal change to the ethnic group question: the movement of "Chinese" into the "Asian or Asian British" set, and the arrival of categories for "Arab" and "Gypsy/Romany/Irish Traveller".1 By contrast, Scotland’s April 2006 census test broke with tradition in abandoning the colour terms used in 1991 and 2001, with "European" replacing "White" and "African or Caribbean" replacing the label "Black, Black Scottish or Black British".