Matt Goodwin has spoken out for the first time on GB News following the Gorton & Denton by-election last Thursday.
Labour, Reform UK and the Greens were all fighting for victory in the mid-term contest, in what was widely considered a litmus test for the political sentiment in Britain – and Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership.
And, in the early hours of Thursday, the Greens’ candidate Hannah Spencer, a local plumber, was triumphant.
Westminster’s newest MP won a majority of more than 4,000 with 14,980 votes – making up almost 41 per cent of the vote share in the contest.
Meanwhile, Reform UK’s candidate received 10,578 and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia received 9,364 votes.
Mr Goodwin has now spoken out following the defeat – which was reportedly littered with “concerningly high levels” of family voting.
Family voting is when two voters use a single polling booth simultaneously, potentially influencing one another on the way they vote. The practice is illegal.
Reform leader Nigel Farage later announced the party reported the matter to the police as well as the Electoral Commission.
Matt Goodwin spoke out on GB News for the first time since the crunch contest
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GB NEWS
In an emotional victory speech, Ms Spencer declared: “I am no different to every single person here in this constituency. I work hard, that is what we do.
“Working hard used to get you something. You got a house, a nice life, holidays. It got you somewhere. But now working hard – what does that get you?”
But Mr Goodwin argued such claims conflicted with what his rival was saying on the campaign trail.
He told GB News: “What the Greens were saying on the campaign trail was – well, firstly, it was often in different languages. It often wasn’t in English.
Hannah Spencer won the Gorton and Denton by-election last week | GETTY
“They really reached out to sectarian grievances in the seat. They deliberately tried to whip up tension between Muslims and Hindus.
“They talked about legalising all drugs. This is what they want to do to the country. Legalised crack cocaine, heroin, legalised prostitution.
“They talked about allowing children to change their gender.”
The former candidate explained he had been reflecting on whether he was really a “sore loser”, as the Greens have said, by expressing concern over family voting after the independent report was published.
He continued: “The funny thing is, this isn’t about me and my ego. I’ve come out of this by-election campaign. I’ve witnessed some truly disturbing things that are taking place in our country.
“I am deeply, deeply concerned about what is happening to our democracy. I’m not saying that the democracy was undermined.
“An impartial, independent group that was put on the ground by the Electoral Commission has been pointing to these problems.”
Mr Goodwin, alongside Mr Farage, has demanded a crackdown on family voting, as well as postal voting, in a bid to prevent such practices from occurring.
He added: “We need to ensure that people who are voting at our elections are actually British, are actually British citizens.
“We’re not going to save our country if we don’t fix our democracy,” he warned.