Matt Goodwin has been criticised for his "racist" views about Britishness
Reform’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election has refused to retract his claim that UK-born people from minority ethnic backgrounds are not necessarily British.
GB News presenter Matthew Goodwin was announced as Reform’s candidate for the ethnically diverse Manchester seat yesterday.
According to the latest census, 44% of Gorton and Denton residents identify as coming from a minority ethnic background. Meanwhile, 79% describe their national identity as British.
Goodwin has been criticised for previously saying that people from black, Asian or other immigrant backgrounds were not always British.
After a knife attack on a Doncaster–London train in November, Goodwin blamed “mass uncontrolled immigration”.
When reminded the attacker was British-born, Goodwin said: “It takes more than a piece of paper to make somebody British.”
In a Daily Telegraph article published last June, Goodwin also claimed that “white British people will be a minority in 40 years”, presenting the increase in the number of “Black British” or “Asian British” people as a problem.
Speaking at an event in Denton, the hard-right activist refused to answer questions from the Guardian about whether he stood by those views.
Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy leader, said Goodwin’s politics sought to “drive a wedge between communities in Manchester” and that Reform offered “division, animosity and hatred – not the unity and pride which our city stands for”.
The Green party leader and Green candidate in the by-election, Zack Polanski, said that Goodwin had “a track record of anti-Muslim bigotry” and that his candidacy was an insult to constituents.
Ten years ago, when he was researching the drivers of far-right extremism, Goodwin denounced Islamophobia. Today, he refers to it as “the flavour of the month amongst the elite class”.
In November, Goodwin was appointed as honorary president of Students4Reform.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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