Petitions/Release all records from each census after 75 years instead of 100 years
StatusClosed
Opened31 Jul 2025
Closes31 Jan 2026
Government response
Parliamentary debateNot eligible
Milestones

A census gives the government a picture of households across the UK and is also used by genealogists to research family history. The UK has a longer waiting time for census records to be released, at 100 years compared to Canada's 92 and USA's 72. We'll have to wait until 2052 for the next release.

From the Inter-War period, genealogists in the UK have the information given to them about ancestors from the 1921 census and 1939 England and Wales Register. However, the 1931 census was burnt in a fire in 1942 so that leaves a 30-year gap between the 1921 census and next available census from 1951. Between the UK, USA and Canada, the UK has the longest wait for census records to be released, and I think that it should be lowered to 75 years instead.

10,000
100,000

Constituency engagement ranking

Jas Athwal
1Jas Athwal MP
Ilford South
2
Lizzi Collinge
2Lizzi Collinge MP
Morecambe and Lunesdale
2
Ruth Cadbury
3Ruth Cadbury MP
Brentford and Isleworth
1
Dr Peter Prinsley
4Dr Peter Prinsley MP
Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket
1
Sarah Gibson
5Sarah Gibson MP
Chippenham
1
Dan Tomlinson
6Dan Tomlinson MP
Chipping Barnet
1
Mary Creagh
7Mary Creagh MP
Coventry East
1
Sarah Jones
8Sarah Jones MP
Croydon West
1
Danny Kruger
9Danny Kruger MP
East Wiltshire
1
Adam Thompson
10Adam Thompson MP
Erewash
1