Reform UK's candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection, Matt Goodwin, has sparked outrage after unearthed YouTube footage showed him calling for young women to be given a 'biological reality' check. In a clip from November 2024, he said many women in Britain are having children 'much too late in life' and should be encouraged to have them earlier.
The comments, first reported by the Independent, drew criticism from MPs and campaigners. Sarah Owen, chair of the Commons women and equalities committee, called them 'deeply offensive' and said they blamed women for declining birthrates. Labour MP Natalie Fleet, who became pregnant at 15, accused Goodwin of wanting a 'Handmaid's Tale future'.
In a separate podcast with Jordan Peterson, Goodwin appeared to agree with the claim that universities are full of 'childless women' leading to 'politically correct authoritarianism'. A Reform spokesperson said they were discussing peer-reviewed studies on psychological differences.
This follows earlier reports that Goodwin had suggested taxing people without children. Reform said he did not call for higher taxes on childless women but wanted a debate on encouraging families. The Fawcett Society's chief executive, Penny East, described the idea of telling girls they have a moral obligation to have children earlier as 'dystopian and deeply sexist'.
