Reform by-election candidate Matt Goodwin calls for ‘young girls’ to be given ‘biological reality’ check

Reform Britain’s candidate in the upcoming by-elections has called for a “biological reality” check on women and young girls as she gives her views on how Britain should deal with its looming “fertility crisis”.

days later Independent An unearthed clip posted on Matt Goodwin’s personal YouTube channel in November 2024, which revealed that Matt Goodwin had previously suggested charging extra taxes as a penalty to people who had not had children, showed the old academic warning that “many women in Britain start having children too late”.

In the video, Mr Goodwin, who is for Reform UK in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election, argued: “We need to explain and educate young children – future generations – about the seriousness of this crisis.

“We also need to explain to young girls and women the biological reality of this crisis. Many women in Britain are having children too late and are choosing to have children much earlier.”

In a separate clip from a podcast he recorded with controversial right-wing philosopher Jordan Peterson, Mr. Goodwin also appeared to accept the host’s claim that universities “have become hotbeds of politically correct authoritarianism” because they are full of “childless women.”

In the February 2025 clip, “predictors of politically correct authoritarianism” were discussed, with Mr Peterson saying: “There were two other significant predictors – actually three – the first of which was being a woman…” Mr Goodwin interjects to say: “I was just going to say…”

Mr. Peterson then continued: “The second was having a female temperament. That was an additional determinant beyond being a woman. The third was being politically correct.”

He added: “Okay, so you’ve pointed out that this harm-avoidance ethos, let’s call it something like that, this protective ethic is becoming dominant, well, no one has been brave enough or bold enough to raise the possibility that it’s because universities are becoming dominated not just by women – this is even worse, I would say – by childless women.”

Mr. Goodwin responded: “Yes, actually there are a few articles on Jordan, I think you’ve seen Cory Clark. I’ve read a few articles that basically show the feminization of higher education over the last 50 years.”

Professor Clark has examined how the inclusion of women in higher education affects academia.

Her research found that creating safe spaces on college campuses and triggering warnings, as well as growing concerns about censorship and freedom of expression at universities, “share a common theme: they reflect women’s priorities.”

Labor deputy leader Lucy Powell described the comments as “completely shocking, misogynistic and despicable”.

But a Reform spokesman said the pair “discussed peer-reviewed academic studies that show clear psychological differences between men and women and influence their views on cancel culture.”

Ms. Powell told Independent: “Reformation’s Matthew Goodwin’s message to women seems to be ‘know your place’.

“After it was revealed that Goodwin wanted to tax millions of childless women, he is now complaining about women’s right to education. This is utterly shocking, misogynistic and despicable.

“We must prevent the extreme Reform candidate from gaining a foothold in Manchester, the proud home of suffragettes and pioneer women, by ensuring he is rejected at the ballot box in this by-election.”

But Mr Goodwin said: “I find it both shocking and amusing that the only political party that endlessly lectures the rest of us about the dangers of ‘misinformation’ is deliberately trying to misinform voters about my views.

“The last person I would take criticism from is Lucy Powell, who described people demanding justice for the gang rape of working-class children as ‘blowing a little trumpet’.”

Last week, it was revealed that Mr Goodwin had previously suggested a “negative child benefit tax” be imposed on those who are “childless”; this suggestion has led to comparisons with dystopian novels. The Handmaid’s Tale, It is set in a society that forces women to bear children to cope with a fertility crisis.

While such a tax would financially impact both men and women, it would disproportionately affect women and put pressure on them to get pregnant to protect both themselves and their partners from the tax.

In her unearthed 2023 blog post, the former university academic and honorary president of Students4Reform also suggested the government should “abolish personal income tax for women with two or more children.”

After Mr Goodwin’s comments were forwarded to Reform UK, the party called for “an adult, mature debate about how we can encourage people to have more children and support British families”.

“This is an idea first put forward by the respected demographer Paul Morland as part of a suite of measures that need to be debated and debated across developed countries if we are serious about tackling the looming demographic crisis,” a party spokesman said.

They later added: “Matthew never called for higher taxation of childless women. He quoted demographer Paul Morland, who proposed a set of policies that would encourage parents to have more children to deal with the demographic crisis looming in our country.”

“Matthew also stands by his comment that young people should be taught biology and is surprised Labor disagrees.”

Responding to the clip on the Jordan Peterson Podcast, a spokesperson for Reform said: “As can be easily seen, they were discussing peer-reviewed academic studies that show clear psychological differences between men and women, influencing their views on cancel culture.”