Matt Goodwin, the Reform UK candidate for Gorton and Denton, has a history of controversial comments, and has been endorsed by Tommy Robinson
Nigel Farage has been accused of missing a “backbone” after failing to condemn comments from his by-election candidate that being born in Britain does not make somebody “British”.
Matt Goodwin, the Reform UK candidate for Gorton and Denton, has a history of controversial comments, and has been endorsed by Tommy Robinson. Mr Goodwin previously claimed “it takes more than a piece of paper to make somebody ‘British’, and refused to disown the claim.
On X, Mr Goodwin had said : “It takes more than a piece of paper to make somebody ‘British’”, and that “migrants do not instantly adopt the host country’s ‘British’ or ‘English’ culture and identity the moment they sign a few papers.”
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He added: “Clearly many integrate successfully but fact remains we have British citizens who reject integration in favour of retaining their origin culture. This is as much our failure as theirs but it is the reality we are living with. It is not ‘far-right’ to think this.”
At a Reform conference on Tuesday, Mr Farage tried to distance himself from Mr Robinson, and failed to say being born in Britain makes you British.
He was asked by The Mirror: “Your candidate Matt Goodwin has declined to condemn the endorsement of Tommy Robinson, and claimed some people born in Britain aren’t British. Do you oppose Robinson’s support, and do you agree with Mr Goodwin about Britishness?”
Responding, Mr Farage ignored the question. He said: “I just don’t want anything to do with him. Tommy Robinson can do what he wants to do, away from us, as long as he stays away from the law, which he doesn’t always do. It’s none of our business, nothing to do with us.”
His response was condemned by Labour, who accused him of “toxic politics”. Andrew Western MP, Political lead for Labour’s Gorton and Denton campaign, said: “It really shouldn’t be that hard for Farage to refuse the support of a far right thug like Tommy Robinson. Yet Farage hasn’t got the backbone to do it.
“Perhaps if he had, he’d also call out Matt Goodwin’s vile view that people who aren’t white can’t be English – purely because of the colour of their skin.
“This just underlines what’s at stake at this by-election. A vote for any party other than Labour risks letting Reform’s toxic politics drive a deep wedge between communities in Manchester and Tameside.”
It comes shortly after The Mirror revealed the Reform by-election candidate had made series of jibes at his new colleague Robert Jenrick over his use of weight loss drugs – and warned the party risks becoming a “Tory tribute act”.
Mr Goodwin mocked Mr Jenrick for using Ozempic, saying: “You can take an injection for weight loss but you can’t take an injection for personality”. Mr Jenrick, a former top Tory who defected to Reform last month, has previously spoken of how he had used the medication to slim down.
Only four months ago, Mr Goodwin claimed that taking in too many Tories could destroy the party. Since then, Reform has welcomed 11 more ex-Tory MPs into its ranks, including Mr Jenrick and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman.