I see a lot of posts from British people who say they will identify as "Other - European or EU citizen" in the 2021 census. I really get it how many people feel about identity in this Brexit context. But this is not helpful for anyone. Why? [1]

It is very simple. We do not have a good estimate of non-British EU citizens are in the UK. This can and will create a lot of issues. For instance, we will not know how many have not applied to the EU Settlement Scheme after the deadline of 30 June 2021. [2]

Better population data enables better planning of services. I saw this first hand, for instance how organisations offering support to EU citizens are overwhelmed in some areas. There are some huge underestimates. Housing, transport...everything will benefit from this. [3]

This census is literally the first chance in a decade to get better population data. So let's see it as what it is -an administrative exercise that benefits us all -, and leave our feelings towards politicians to the ballot box in the May local elections. [4]

P.S. I have seen some varying types of questions posted online and not sure if someone could choose multiple options or how will this be in the real census. My main point is we need a way to better estimate the non-British EU citizen population.

P.S.2. I see a question asks about subjective identification with a “national identity”. I think this is indeed subjective as for me European is not my national identity, which is Romanian, but a collective, supra-national identity. But I understand there are mixed views on this.