Right wing commentator Matt Goodwin was unveiled as Reform’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election today – and he vowed to make the vote ‘a referendum on Keir Starmer‘.
The 44-year-old former academic, whose family is from Manchester, will run in a city seat which is expected to be a close fight between Reform, Labour and the Greens next month.
The GB News presenter’s chances have been boosted after Sir Keir blocked Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from running.
Addressing an audience in eastern Manchester Mr Goodwin said: ‘Taxes are up, unemployment is up, energy bills are up, the cost of living crisis is getting worse.
‘Soft on crime policies have become normal in this country. Elections are being cancelled, democracy is being postponed.
‘I don’t know about you but I’m sick and tired of our great country… being pushed further into managed decline.’
He added: ‘This by-election is actually a referendum. It’s a referendum on Keir Starmer.
‘It’s a chance for hard-working, law-abiding people, taxpaying people from this seat to have their say on Keir Starmer and to make political history.’
The 44-year-old, whose family is from Manchester, will run in a seat which is expected to be a close fight between Reform, Labour and the Greens next month.
Lee Anderson told the event the candidate needed to have ‘roots in this area’ and been educated in the constituency. ‘This will be a real test for Keir Starmer,’ he said, adding that Labour were ‘toast’ in the Greater Manchester constituency.
Lee Anderson told the event the candidate needed to have ‘roots in this area’ and been educated in the constituency.
‘This will be a real test for Keir Starmer,’ he said, adding that Labour were ‘toast’ in the Greater Manchester constituency.
Asked about Andy Burnham’s short-lived bid to stand for the seat, Mr Goodwin said it showed Labour were more interested in ‘squabbling’ amongst themselves than standing up for local voters.
Asked about persuading lifelong Labour voters to switch to Reform, Mr Goodwin said he had voted Labour himself in the past.
Saying he had been on a ‘journey’ towards supporting , he said the main parties had allowed ‘mass uncontrolled immigration’ to take place and that many people were drawing the same conclusion as him.
Questioned about what changes he could pledge in Gorton and Denton, Mr Goodwin cited anger at houses of multiple occupation, declining markets, antisocial behaviour and rising shoplifting.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former MP Andrew Gwynne, who stood down for health reasons.
Labour won the seat with a majority of more than half and 18,555 votes in 2024, with Reform coming second at 5,142 votes and narrowly beating the Greens at 4,810.
Appearing at a press conference in the constituency to announce his candidacy, Mr Goodwin said: ‘I am not a career politician. I am not a Tory.
‘I am not part of the establishment. I am not part of the Westminster blob.
‘I am, like many people in this seat and millions of people in this country, hard-working taxpayers who are just fed up of watching what is happening to their communities and to their home.’
Nigel Farage’s party is seeking to turn an opinion poll lead into votes at the ballot box as Sir Keir faces internal discontent about the move to block Andy Burnham from running in the contest.
The Prime Minister has defended the decision by members of Labour’s National Executive Committee, arguing that allowing the Greater Manchester Mayor to stand would divert resources away from campaigns ahead of the local elections.
Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell, who is also a Manchester MP, said: ‘Matt Goodwin represents the kind of politics that will drive a wedge between communities in Manchester.
‘Reform have misjudged the mood around Manchester and they won’t put the priorities of working people first. They just offer division, animosity, and hatred – not the unity and pride which our city stands for.‘
