Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Reform by-election candidate shows true colours
The paper says that Matthew Goodwin, a hard-right activist, has been criticised for claiming recently that people from black, Asian or other immigrant backgrounds were not always British, saying: “It takes more than a piece of paper to make somebody ‘British’”:
Speaking at an event in Denton, the GB News presenter twice declined to answer when asked by the Guardian whether he stood by those views – described by the Liberal Democrats as “racist” and “abhorrent”.
Nearly half of the Gorton and Denton population – 44% – identifies as coming from a minority ethnic background, while 79% of the constituency identifies as British, according to the latest census.
Goodwin refused to answer the Guardian’s questions as he posed for photographs alongside the Reform MP Lee Anderson at a bar in Denton.
Anderson, the Reform chief whip, described Goodwin as a “fearless” activist who would “debate anybody at any time”.
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, Zack Polanski, alleged that Goodwin had “a track record of anti-Muslim bigotry” and that his candidacy was an insult to constituents.
The paper adds that Goodwin’s selection as the Reform candidate has surprised some commentators, given his outspoken views on British nationality and Islam:
Only three weeks ago, he wrote that Britain’s “ruling class” was “silencing” debate about Islam in “one of the most serious assaults on free speech and free expression Britain has ever seen”. More than one in four voters in Gorton and Denton identify as Muslim.
Goodwin's candidacy is a warning as to what Reform is really about. They are not just concerned with asylum seekers, they are targeting minority communities, they are divisive, disruptive, and a real threat to community cohesion.
