The clip was shared by the Labour Party where Goodwin was criticised
Reform’s candidate for the Gorton and Denton by-election, Matthew Goodwin, has been shown to be bad mouthing Manchester in what will no doubt lead to questions being raised about his commitment to the area.
A by-election for Gorton and Denton was triggered after its MP Andrew Gwynne chose to resign. He was suspended by the Labour Party after posting offensive messages in a Whatsapp group.
Reform announced right-wing academic and commentator Matthew Goodwin as their party’s candidate.
Goodwin was once a university professor who co-authored a book about the rise of UKIP, the political party once led by Reform’s current leader, Nigel Farage.
As Hope Not Hate point out, at one point Goodwin was a serious academic working to understand the drivers of far-right extremism, and for most of his career relatively liberal, seen by colleagues as hard working, bright and ambitious. But he is now one of the most influential radical right figures in the country.
The clip shows Goodwin telling a crowd of people that he “was lucky enough, or unfortunate enough, to be in Manchester a few days ago.”
“The energy in this room is ten times what it was in Manchester, so congratulations,” he added.
The clip was shared by the Labour Party where Goodwin was criticised.
We should point out that Goodwin is also a vocal supporter of Hungary’s Viktor Orban, an autocratic ruler known for attacks on free speech.
Goodwin has also taken extreme positions on Islam and Muslims, discrediting the very notion of Islamophobia even as Muslims face rising hate crimes.
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