Is the stress of the Gorton & Denton by-election turning Matt Goodwin into a snowflake? On Tuesday night, the former academic turned hard right rabble rouser, Reform’s candidate in the forthcoming by-election, pulled out of a hustings event at 30 minutes’ notice, claiming to be concerned about the impartiality of its organiser.
The hustings was being hosted by Local Voices, a “collective of neighbours from across Gorton & Denton who are unaffiliated with any political party”, according to its Instagram profile, and held at Gorton Methodist Church. A photo from the event shows seven of the 11 candidates for the by-election there – including those from Labour and the Greens – but not Reform’s Goodwin, who announced half an hour before that he would not be there.
“As you know, from my media contributions, I’ve never been one to shy away from a free and fair debate,” the GB News presenter posted on X.
“However, I have serious concerns about the impartiality of the hustings that have been organised for tonight. Previous statements by the organising group give the clear impression that a fair and level platform will not be provided for all candidates, so on that basis I will not be attending.”
It is not clear what the “previous statements by the organising group” are, its social media presence only detailing such dastardly left wing activities as organising a wassailing event with orchard blessings, mulled apple juice and “winter silliness”.
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“I look forward to future opportunities to discuss the issues that matter most to those in the local area and answer questions from local residents in a genuinely neutral setting – including at the forthcoming Manchester Evening News hustings and the BBC’s by-election debate on Monday,” Goodwin went on. “I cannot wait for these debates.”
What was Goodwin’s issue? Organisers have suggested that he was insistent on having a separate green room, something which would tally with party colleague Zia Yusuf’s attitude (“I’ve been shocked at just how pally and cosy politicians from legacy parties are with each other in green rooms”), but maybe wasn’t possible in a small local church.
Andrew Western, Labour’s political lead on the campaign, meanwhile, has accused Goodwin of “attempting to pack the room with Reform supporters from outside the constituency, against the organisers’ wishes”. When this failed, say Labour, brave Goodwin ran away.
But it certainly contrasts with their attitude earlier this week to Bangor University, whose unaffiliated debating society turned down a request from Goodwin’s friend and colleague, MP Sarah Pochin, to speak at one of their events. Reform have said they will strip it of £30 million of funding, in effect shutting it down, if it wins the Senedd election in May. That would cost 2,000 jobs at the uni and would make a significant dent in the Bangor economy, which is currently boosted by the spending of 10,500 students.
It’s the latest in a string of bloopers by Reform in the constituency, who were confident of a win. This week Rats in a Sack reported how the party is facing a police investigation after sending out what appeared to be handwritten letters from a “concerned neighbour” that failed to state they had been written and distributed by Reform itself.
And Goodwin still hasn’t repudiated the endorsement of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the far right hooligan who has urged his supporters to back him, presumably lest it put off a few racists. Might he now be beginning to regret seeking the candidacy?
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