Academic Matt Goodwin unveiled as Reform UK’s by-election candidate
Reform UK has announced commentator and academic Matt Goodwin as its candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection.
Speaking at a press conference, Goodwin said he was “not part of the establishment” and promised to give people in his Westminster constituency a “voice”
The by-election in the Greater Manchester constituency was triggered by the resignation of Andrew Gwynne, who resigned for health reasons.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham had hoped to become an MP for the constituency but was blocked by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee, a move that angered some MPs.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who chairs the committee, said Labor’s resources should be “focused on the choices we need to make, not the choices we don’t have to make”.
Had Burnham been successful in the by-election, it would have triggered a mayoral election to replace him in Greater Manchester.
Around 50 Labor MPs we signed a letter We call on the NEC to reconsider its decision.
In the 2024 general election Labor won the seat with a majority of 13,000. Reform England came second with 5,000 votes, narrowly beating out the Green Party to become the third party.
Goodwin said the by-election was “a referendum on Keir Starmer”.
“This is a chance for hard-working, law-abiding, tax-paying people in this seat to have their say on Keir Starmer and make political history,” he said.
“Manchester made me,” he told the audience, adding that his grandfather worked in a steel mill in the city and his mother worked at the University of Salford, which Goodwin later attended.
He said he used to deliver pizzas in the Gorton and Denton area when he was a student.
As an academic, Goodwin taught and researched politics; He has written books on populism, Brexit and the rise of UKIP, another right-wing party also led by Nigel Farage.
