REFNATION
ImmigrationEnded 14 Aug

Projections estimate decline of share White British from ~73% (2025) to ~57% in 2050, should we try to stop it?

Yes 57%No 43%245 votes cast

Census data shows the White British share of the England and Wales population fell from 86% in 2011 to around 74% in 2021. Independent projections based on current sub-replacement fertility rates near 1.3 for White British and sustained net migration indicate a further decline to roughly 57% by 2050 and below 50% by the early 2060s. No official ONS ethnic population projections exist, so estimates vary with assumptions on future policy.

Jump to opinions· 14

The prospect of a much smaller White British share produced a Yes victory, 139 votes to 106, but not a settled theory of what should be done. The result was a vote for intervention more than a consensus on whether the answer lies in migration, family policy or cultural integration.

The floor’s most-respected Yes argument recast the question away from ethnicity and towards social cohesion: “This isn’t about race, it’s about integration and culture.” Another highly rated voice pointed to “why British families are having fewer children”, citing childcare, housing and the cost of living, while other Yes voters proposed Hungarian-style tax incentives or simply argued that change was “too much too fast”.

The No case attacked both the category and the mechanism. Its strongest intervention called “white British” “the wrong category to prioritise”, preferring concern for people with roots in the country “whether or not they’re white”; another voter cut to the practical objection: “how are you going to do it?” Several others called the question dangerous or over-projected, while insisting that shared values, liberal democracy, language and culture matter more than skin colour.

That left the two sides answering different questions. Yes voters variously wanted lower immigration, tighter leave-to-remain rules, tougher deportations or more births; No voters ranged from “It’s not an issue” to the argument that demographic projections are too uncertain to justify a policy. The online floor therefore endorsed trying to change the trajectory without agreeing whether the target was race, identity, integration or population policy.

The verdict was a mandate for concern, not a blueprint for action.

“This isn’t about race, it’s about integration and culture. We have an aging population and cannot continue to plug the gaps with cheap immigrant labour - it’s bad for the economy and bad for the country. We need to have an honest conversation about why British families are having fewer children - cost of living pressures, the astronomical price of childcare, housing costs, a society that is now to”

YES case · rh79 · 2 respects

“'white British' is the wrong category to prioritise imo, it is true that the rapid demographic changes we've seen recently are a result of mass immigration which I consider to be a mistake, but I'm more concerned with the percentage of people who have roots in the country (eg grandparents born here), whether or not they're white - I don't want us to become like Dubai where 80% of the population ar”

NO case · Navier_Tokes · 2 respects

57%
Yes · 139 votes
43%
No · 106 votes
LeftCentreRight
Spread the wordShare
Debate

14 Opinions

Sign in and vote to share your opinion.
The Electoral Custodian
Voted noC. Right lean

'white British' is the wrong category to prioritise imo, it is true that the rapid demographic changes we've seen recently are a result of mass immigration which I consider to be a mistake, but I'm more concerned with the percentage of people who have roots in the country (eg grandparents born here), whether or not they're white - I don't want us to become like Dubai where 80% of the population are expats

GenLee· 410
The Accountable Proprietor
Voted yesCentre lean

Our indigenous peoples should be having sex (and babies) more. We should take a leaf from places like Hungary where a family who have 3 children is exempt from income tax for life.

Glasses· 595
The Motorway Marketeer
Voted yesRight lean

Let's not try, let's make it a law. Start by deportation of illegal ,non working, and convicted criminals

rjane· 346
The Public Power Architect
Voted noC. Left lean

The colour of people skin is a not a measure of anything except skin colour. We should be making sure we have shared values, language and culture , enriched but not obliterated by immigration or globalisation

StuOH· 489
The Civic Bargainer
Voted noCentre lean

Its irrelevant whether people are white British or not. Its very important all citizens respect liberal democracy fought for over centuries (small L) and consider themselves British or English/Scottish/Welsh above all else.

Lixhul· 706
The Institution
Voted yesRight lean

I don't think there is any way for it to happen.

JohnnyBoy· 367
The Planning Liberator
Voted yesRight lean

Always those who wring their hands & say something can’t be done - woolly minded left/liberal position. As a society we have become less martial & soft, intentionally ignoring real conflict in society. We have mass immigration & Islam- an imperialistic expansionist aggressive violent ideology that openly expresses that they will take over UK aided by the hard left - our government, yet it censors but won’t allow an open debate, What do we want - slavery or freedom?

The Open-Border Green Insurgent
Voted noLeft lean

It's not an issue

The Market-State Traditionalist
Voted yesRight lean

Yes, but not because of colour, but because of values. It's too much too fast. Boriswave people's leave to remain should not become permanent.

The Ballot Architect
Voted noC. Right lean

This feels like a dangerous question with no real thought as to what any solution would look like. It's also foolish to project that far into the future.