In the United Kingdom, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (abbreviated to GRT) is an umbrella term to represent certain ethnic groups with a history of nomadism.

In the phrase GRT, the Gypsy grouping encompasses Romani people from groups that have resided in Britain since the 16th century, such as the English Gypsies (Romanichal) and Welsh Gypsies (Kale). The British government and British GRT rights groups understand the term Roma as encompassing more recent Romani migrants from Continental Europe. Travellers include Irish Travellers (Mincéirí) residing in Britain and Northern Ireland and other non-Romani traditional travelling people such as Scottish Travellers. Although these groups' lifestyles traditionally involved travel, most GRT people now live in houses or permanent caravan berths.

The term GRT is used officially by the British Government and Travellers' Rights organisations, as well as by universities, academics and local authorities. GRT people are protected under the UK's equality of opportunity legislation; however, they face frequent discrimination and racism in their dealings with state bodies and the non-GRT community.

GRT people, as a group, are at risk of social exclusion and suffer from disadvantages in education, housing and health.

GRT groups in Britain

The groups referred to under the umbrella term "GRT" are diverse, but share certain common historical and social traits. The principal commonality is their history of nomadism; recent or still practiced in the case of Travellers and Gypsies (Romani), but more distant in the case of Roma migrants. Romani people in the UK share consciousness of themselves as a discrete ethnicity from the non-Romani population, known as Gorjas or country people in England, Scotland and Wales.

Despite their differences, there are cultural factors which unite Travellers with Roma and Gypsies. Family bonds and kinship networks are very important to Travellers, Roma and Gypsies, with a strong emphasis on rites of passage such as weddings, anniversaries, births and funerals that offer an opportunity to unite the family. These celebrations have a strong ritual and ceremonial component. All British GRT groups have a strong preference for early marriage and make tidiness and cleanliness a strong cultural value. There is also a tendency across all groups to prefer self-employment, while adapting their specific economic activity to the changing wider societal context.

Non-ethnic occupational or cultural traveller communities, such as Showmen and Bargees are sometimes excluded from the term GRT, despite sharing many aspects of the traditional lifestyle of GRT groups. They are sometimes included in a broader category of Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Show People and Bargees (GRTSB).

All GRT groups in Britain suffer from racism and prejudice in their dealings with settled society, the media and the state.

Gypsies

The term Gypsies in GRT refers to Romani people belonging to groups that have existed in Britain for centuries, such as Romanichal (English Gypsies) and Kale (Welsh Gypsies). They share a common origin in Romani populations which emigrated from India during the first millennium and arrived in Britain in the early 16th century, meaning their presence predates the establishment of the United Kingdom by two centuries. Traditionally, the Romanichal and Kale spoke comprehensive variants of Romani until their dialects began to mix heavily with English and Welsh, respectively.

Use of "Gypsy" in the UK The term Gypsy, which originates in the word "Egypt", mistakenly believed to be the original homeland of the Gypsies, has been controversial. Some Romani activists reject the term, but it is embraced by others. Although the term "Roma" was endorsed in place of "Gypsies" at the first World Roma Congress in London, many Romani people in Britain prefer to call themselves Gypsies, or names that include the term such as Romani Gypsies or Romany Gypsies. They also commonly refer to themselves as Romani or Romanies.

The British Government, academics and pro-GRT advocacy groups, the NHS and local authorities all use the term "Gypsies" to describe Romani populations that have been in the UK for centuries. The Traveller Movement, Friends, Families and Travellers and Equity's Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Network use "Gypsy" without qualification, whereas the Women and Equalities Select Committee of the British Parliament states in its report on the GRT community:

Eastern European Roma living in the UK and North America generally reject the English term "Gypsy" as they associate it with terms in the languages of their countries of origin which are considered racial slurs.

In November 2024, the Traveller Movement recommended that the British Government should change its official terminology from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller to Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Traveller in order to "better reflect the specific groups for whom the DfE collects statistical data, and more accurately represent the distinct protected characteristics of each community under the Equality Act 2010".

The term is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to Irish Travellers in Britain.

English and Welsh Gypsies

The Romani Gypsies of England and Wales (also known as Romanichal and Kale, respectively) first arrived in Britain in the 16th century. Their traditional language was Kale Romani, a form of which survived in Wales into the 20th century and retained much more grammatical complexity than the Angloromani dialect that had developed in England by that time. However, both Romani subgroups are now English-speaking, employing Angloromani or Welsh Romani as cultural languages.

Gypsies in England and Wales were traditionally nomadic, however the majority now live in houses or permanent camp sites.

Romanichal are also present in Scotland, where they are known locally as Border Gypsies. They are a subset of Romanichal who have settled in Scotland, or, if nomadic, spend at least part of their time there. They are speakers of northern English Angloromani and are sometimes members of Romani associations in England.

Scottish Border Travellers Scottish border travellers are a subset of northern English Romany Gypsies who have settled in Scotland, or, if nomadic, who spend part of their time there. They are speakers of northern English Angloromani and sometimes have membership of English traveller associations. Their local name is "Border Gypsies".

Roma

The term Roma in GRT is understood to refer to Romani people who migrated more recently to Britain from mainland Europe, particularly Central and Eastern Europe. In the 2021 Census of England and Wales, 13.9% of people who identified as Roma were born in England while a percentage of those born in Wales was not provided. Meanwhile, 26.1% were born in Italy, 23.6% were born in Romania, 6.6% were born in Slovakia, 6.2% in Brazil, 3.1% in Moldova, 2.9% in Spain, 2.3% in the Czech Republic, 2.1% in Portugal and 2% in Poland. While Romani migrants from mainland Europe arrived in the UK in small numbers during the 19th and 20th centuries, the level of immigration increased following the fall of the Berlin Wall, especially with the gradual accession of Eastern European countries to the EU and EU freedom of movement. Most Roma migrants in Britain speak the national languages of their country of origin, with some speaking a dialect of Romani additionally. Romani people from different countries often have considerable cultural differences between them, and even in the same country they may have different sub-ethnic identities.

Romani people originated in India, arriving in Europe around the 12th century, after passing through the Byzantine Empire. Romani people have resided in Britain since at least 1515, where they have faced a history of prejudice and persecution. Those that remained in mainland Europe were victims of genocide during the Second World War. In post-communist countries, many were forcibly settled by communist authorities and were invariably the first workers to be sacked from state industries during the transition to capitalism. There has been a notable increase in anti-Roma sentiment in the post-communist era and they continue to suffer discrimination and social exclusion, with the economic and social positions of Roma becoming more marginal throughout Eastern Europe. These factors have spurred migration to the UK.

Roma migrants living in Britain do not practice nomadism.

Travellers

Travellers are non-Romani itinerant groups in Britain and Northern Ireland, including the indigenous Travelling groups of Britain and the Irish travellers of Ireland. These groups have an understanding of themselves as a separate population from mainstream society. Despite the name, a majority of ethnic travellers are actually house or fixed caravan dwellers.

Irish Travellers

Irish Travellers (also known as Pavees or Mincéirs) are a traditionally nomadic ethno-cultural group originating in Ireland. They speak English and De Gammon, also known as Shelta, a mixed language with its origins in Irish and English. They largely practice the Roman Catholic religion and have a preference for self-employment. Although there are similarities between their traditional lifestyles, Irish Travellers are not of Romani descent and have no genetic relationship to Romany Gypsies. The two groups only occasionally intermarry.

Irish Travellers have been officially recognised as an ethnic minority in Northern Ireland since 1997 and Ireland since 2017. However they still suffer from discrimination and social exclusion on both sides of the border.

Scottish Travellers

Scottish Gypsies/Travellers (or Nachins/Nawkins) are a traditionally nomadic ethnic group which emerged from intermarriage of the indigenous Scottish population with Romani nomads. In this respect they are similar to para-Romani groups such as the Spanish Quinquis and the Swedish Tattere. They are first recorded in the 19th century but probably originated earlier than this. Their traditional language is Scottish Cant. In the past the group were known as "tinkers", but in recent years that name has become pejorative.

The Scottish/Gypsy Traveller Association exists as an advocacy group for the community.

Non-ethnic Travellers

Non-ethnic Travellers are people who have a lifestyle which involves a peripatetic residence for part or all of the year. The term covers occupational travellers who travel for work, such as show people and bargees; and "lifestyle travellers", such as New Age travellers. These groups do not enjoy legal protection as ethnic minorities in the UK and are only rarely considered as members of the GRT community. Non-ethnic Travellers suffer similar social disadvantage to ethnic Traveller groups, but are often overlooked in policy-making, due to the absence of official monitoring categories applicable to them. For this reason, some scholars and organisations use the more inclusive term GRTSB (Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Show People and Bargee).

Demographics

It is difficult to arrive at an accurate number of GRT people in the United Kingdom due to problems with surveying methods, reluctance of GRT people to self-report as Gypsy, Roma or Traveller, and the essential ambiguity around how and when GRT individuals might choose to identify themselves as such.

In the 2011 census, 57,680 people identified themselves as members of categories which the government interpreted as belonging under the umbrella of GRT. However, the British government website notes that much higher estimates, from 150,000 to 500,000 people exist.

Brown, Scullion and Martin, writing in 2013, based on interviews with local authority officers, put the number of GRT people in the country at between 400,000 and 500,000. They estimated 200,000-300,000 of these to be Travellers and indigenous Gypsies, with a further 200,000 migrant Roma, principally from the EU.