Labour urges Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin to publicly distance himself from racist material circulated by his campaign team
Labour demands that Reform UK’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election sever ties with members of his campaign staff who have circulated racist content and expressed support for far-right groups.
In a letter to Matt Goodwin, Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell referenced a Manchester Mill investigation that identified five individuals who worked on Goodwin’s campaign and had shared racist material online and signalled affinity with far-right organisations.
Goodwin hopes to win Reform UK’s ninth Parliament seat in a high-stakes Manchester contest where Labour’s 13,000-vote cushion could be toppled by a Reform or Green challenger.
The report, drawing on research from anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate, highlighted social media posts from Goodwin’s interim campaign manager in Tameside, Adam Mitula. Among the remarks cited were assertions that “60-70%” of transgender people are paedophiles, a statement that he would “never touch a Jewish woman,” and use of the n-word.
The Guardian uncovered more of Mitula’s tweets, including claims of “Muslim no-go ghettos in the UK.” He also commented on Black fathers, saying: “They are the best in leaving muims [sic] with no support. But those who care about families are very good people.”
Mitula allegedly expressed support for online influencer Andrew Tate despite ongoing investigations by Romanian and British authorities into alleged human trafficking and rape. After a Tate interview with Piers Morgan, Mitula wrote in September last year: “Well said by potentially future prime minister.”
The Manchester Mill also reported on another person pictured alongside Goodwin, Kelly Cooling, who is said to have shown support for the far-right Britain First party last summer.
Alanna Vine, also pictured with Goodwin during the campaign, was reportedly suspended by the Conservative Party in 2022 over social media posts deemed discriminatory toward Muslims.
Goodwin’s campaign has been under scrutiny since his late-January nomination. Recently, he faced criticism for comments interpreted as endorsing a dystopian “Handmaid’s Tale” future after YouTube footage from 2024 showed him urging a “biological reality check” for young girls and women.
It has also emerged that Goodwin described as “insane” the sentencing of a man who was jailed for social media posts urging the slaughter of migrants.
Powell’s letter notes that Goodwin may not have known about the comments when campaign helpers offered support, but asserts that he is now aware. It urges Goodwin to distance himself from these supporters, explicitly condemn racism and conspiracy theories, and make clear that such views are not welcome within Reform UK or in his campaign.
“If you fail to publicly dissociate from the views of these supporters and remove them from your campaign, people will conclude that you and Reform UK are comfortable with their views.”
Reform UK and Mitula have been asked for comment.
