Politics
Starmer Slams Reform Candidate Over Racial Comments
Goodwin, who is standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election, said: “My view is Englishness is an ethnicity that is deep deeply rooted in a people that can trace their roots back over generations. It is a very distinctive identity and a different identity from Britishness.
“So I think somebody could identify as British and they can be British but they cannot simultaneously identify as English.”
In a speech on Thursday, Starmer hit out those who he said are “selling the lie that people who look different cannot really live together”.
The PM said: “You see it in politicians like the Reform candidate in Gorton and Denton, who look at people like Rishi Sunak, Shabana Mahmood and presumably Marcus Rashford, Shirley Bassey, Anas Sarwar, and say they can’t really be English or Welsh or Scottish because they are not white.”
Starmer said that was “an affront to British values as I see it”.
“And I tell you, as long as I’ve got breath in my body I will always fight against that politics,” he said.
Reform UK have been contacted for comment.