On the census consultations

In 1882, novelist Leo Tolstoy, himself an enumerator in Moscow, described a census as “a mirror into which, willy nilly, the whole community, and each one of us, gaze”.

I have a piece published in the Conversation (UK) on the history, tradition and symbolism of the census. It is more of a background article than an actual position on the coming potential changes to the UK census.

I do have more specific views on how it should evolve - and in time I’ll probably blog about that - but as far as this piece goes, my overwhelming sentiment is that change should be gradual and well-tested.