 A portrait of a Romani woman by English painterOctavius Oakley | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom: ≈ 225,000 – 0.4% (European Commission estimate, 2012)[1][2] England: 99,122 – 0.2% (2021)[3] Scotland: Unavailable Wales: 1,842 – 0.06% (2021)[3] Northern Ireland: 1,529 – 0.08% (2021)[4] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| North West England andGreater London | |
| Languages | |
| Angloromani,Scottish Cant,Kalá | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (71.8%),Islam (2.0%) |
Romani people have been recorded in theUnited Kingdom since at least the early 16th century. There are estimated to be around 225,000Romani people residing in the UK. This includes theRomanichal andKalé, and those stemming from more recent migrations frommainland Europe (particularlyCentral and Eastern Europe), the bulk of which took place just prior toWorld War I, in the 1930s, in the late 1990s/early 2000s, and after EU expansion in 2004.[5][6][7]
Romanichal (commonly known as "English Gypsies") are a Romani subgroup in England. The first Romanies arrived in England in the 16th century. Romanichal predominantly live in England, but also in South Wales, Northeast Wales and the Scottish Borders.[8] Most Romanichal speak English andAngloromani. There exists a north–south divide between Romanichal inSouthern andNorthern England, with the two groups' dialects differing in pronunciation and vocabulary.[9]
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Kalé are a Romani subgroup in Wales. The first Romanies arrived in Wales in the 16th century.[10][11][12] Kale predominantly live in the Welsh-speaking parts of northwestern Wales and traditionally speakRomnimus. The Romani population in Wales is estimated to be around 3,000.
According to the Scottish Traveller Education Programme, an estimated 20,000 Romanies and Travellers live in Scotland.[13] Amongst the Romani people in Scotland are Romanichal,Lowland Romanies in theScottish Lowlands, and recent Romani migrants from mainland Europe, particularly Central and Eastern Europe.
The first recorded reference to "the Egyptians" appears to date from 1492, during the reign ofJames IV, when an entry in the Book of the Lord High Treasurer records a payment "to Peter Ker of four shillings, to go to the king at Hunthall, to get letters subscribed to the 'King of Rowmais'". Two days after, a payment of twenty pounds was made at the king's command to the messenger of the 'King of Rowmais'.[14]
Around 2,500 Romanies lived in Northern Ireland in 2016. Although Irish Travellers were sometimes incorrectly referred to as “gypsies” in the past, they are not Romani. Romani people in Northern Ireland are primarily recent Romani migrants from Continental Europe (primarily Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic).[15] Romani people have also existed in small numbers in Ireland for centuries due to historical migrations from Britain.[16][17]
Romanies residing in the UK are predominantlyChristian, with 71.8% of Romanies in England and Wales identifying as Christian in the 2021 census compared to 46.2% of the wider population.[19][20] The second largest group were those with no religion, constituting 17.6% of the Romani population in England and Wales.Muslims were the third largest group, constituting 2% of the Romani population in England and Wales.[19]
Marime (orMochadi) is a belief traditionally encompassed withinRomanipen which, although not a religion, refers to a traditional Romani concept of ritual impurity, relating to topics such ashygiene andhuman sexuality.[21][22][23]
| Religion | England and Wales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021[19] | ||||
| Number | % | |||
 Christianity | 72,485 | 71.8% | ||
| No religion | 17,732 | 17.6% | ||
 Islam | 2,028 | 2.0% | ||
 Buddhism | 368 | 0.4% | ||
 Judaism | 187 | 0.2% | ||
 Hinduism | 58 | 0.06% | ||
 Sikhism | 43 | 0.04% | ||
| Other religions | 674 | 0.7% | ||
| Not Stated | 7,405 | 7.3% | ||
| Total | 100,980 | 100% | ||
Romani people in the United Kingdom are considered part of theGypsy (Romani), Roma and Traveller (GRT) community.[24] In the UK, Romanies are classified aswhite. However, some of them do not identify as white, as historical persecution has contributed to an "uncertain whiteness" that sets them apart from other white groups.[25]
Romani people in the United Kingdom have historically experienced significant marginalisation and discrimination.
In 2005,Doncaster Borough Council discussed its review of Gypsy and Traveller needs[26] and concluded that "Gypsies" andIrish Travellers are among the most vulnerable and marginalised ethnic minority groups in Britain.[27][28]
In 2007, a study by theEquality and Human Rights Commission found that widespread prejudice against "Gypsy Traveller" communities persists in Wales.[29]
In 2008, a report by theUniversity of the West of Scotland found that both Scottish and UK governments had failed to safeguard the rights of the Roma as a recognised ethnic group and did not raise awareness of Roma rights within the UK.[30]
In 2012, anAmnesty International report stated that "Gypsy Traveller" groups in Scotland routinely suffer widespread discrimination in society,[31] as well as a disproportionate level of scrutiny in the media.[32][33]
Since 2015, changes in policy have resulted in an ongoing widespread shortage of authorised encampment sites for nomadic communities, including traditionally nomadic Romani communities.[34] In its2019 electoral manifesto, theConservative Party made a promise to "tackle unauthorised Traveller camps" to "protect our communities" by empowering police to arrest Travellers and seize their homes and property without compensation, continuing a long history of the criminalisation of Travellers in the United Kingdom..[35][36] After success in that election, plans to implement these policies are proceeding.[37]
TheEgyptians Act 1530 banned Romani people from enteringEngland, requiring those already living there to leave within sixteen days under the threat of confiscation of property, imprisonment, and deportation. TheEgyptian Act 1554 amended this law, removing the threat of punishment on the condition that Romani people abandon their "naughty, idle, and ungodly life and company" and adopt a settled, sedentary lifestyle. However, this same act also raised the penalty for noncompliance to death. Later, in 1562, new legislation was passed which permitted Romani people born inEngland and Wales to formallybecome English subjects but only if they assimilated into the local population, and the punishment of death remained for those who refused to assimilate.[38][39]
The Inclosure Act 1857 created the offence of injury or damage to village greens and interruption to its use or enjoyment as a place of exercise and recreation. TheCommons Act 1876 makes encroachment or enclosure of a village green, and interference with or occupation of the soil, unlawful unless it is with the aim of improving enjoyment of the green.[40][41]
TheCaravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 states that no occupier of land shall cause or permit the land to be used as a caravan site unless he is the holder of a site licence. It also enables a district council to make an order prohibiting the stationing of caravans on common land, or a town or village green. These acts had the overall effect of preventing travellers using the vast majority of their traditional stopping places.[42]
TheCaravan Sites Act 1968 required local authorities to provide caravan sites for travellers if there was a demonstrated need. This was resisted by many councils, who would claim that there were no Romanichals living in their areas.[43] The result was that insufficient pitches were provided for travellers, leading to a situation whereby holders of a pitch could no longer travel, for fear of losing it.
The crisis of the 1960s, caused by theCaravan Sites Act 1968 (stopping new private sites being built until 1972), led to the appearance of the "British Gypsy Council" to fight for the rights of the Romani people in Britain.
TheCriminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, passed by the thenConservative government, removed local authorities' responsibility to provide sites, effectively limiting options for nomadic Travellers. Critics argued that this had the effect of criminalising their community, leaving Travellers with no option but to purchase unregistered new sites themselves.[44]
In the UK, the issue of "Travellers" (referring to Romanichal Travellers,Irish Travellers, Funfair Travellers (Showmen), as well as other groups) became a 2005general election issue, with the leader of theConservative Party promising to review theHuman Rights Act 1998. This law, which absorbs theEuropean Convention on Human Rights into UKprimary legislation, is seen by some to permit the granting of retrospective planning permission. Population pressures and limited availability ofgreenfield sites have led some Travellers to purchase land and establish residential settlements outside normal planning restrictions.[45]
Romanichal Travellers and Irish Travellers argued in response that thousands of retrospective planning permissions are granted in Britain in cases involving non-Romani applicants each year and that statistics showed that 90% of planning applications by Travellers were initially refused bylocal councils, compared with a national average of 20% for other applicants, disproving claims of preferential treatment favouring Travellers.[46]
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