The Reform UK candidate who lost a crunch by-election last month has defended using AI to help write his latest book.
Matt Goodwin came in second place, behind the Green Party’s Hannah Spencer, in the Gorton and Denton vote – a sign that Nigel Farage’s party may be losing momentum with voters.
Now the ex-university academic, who came under fire during the campaign for calling for women and young girls to be given a “biological reality” check, has had to defend his use of ChatGPT on his latest book, Suicide of a Nation: Immigration, Islam, Identity.
The book has been described as a “story of how Britain, one of the most remarkable countries on earth, is not just in decline but is committing national suicide”.
The description adds: “It is a story of how a people are losing their own country. Mass uncontrolled immigration, porous borders, ‘two-tier multiculturalism’, and a draconian regime of censorship are all contributing to not just the transformation of a country and a people but their very replacement.”
After its publication, critics took to X to point out that ChatGPT was mentioned in the URL in some of Mr Goodwin’s references in the book.
In response, he has posted a long thread, defending his use of AI.
He said: “I see no issue obtaining datasets via AI so long as they are cross-checked with the original source.”
He also hit out at what he said were high numbers of children in schools speaking English not as their first language. “We should have a shared language. Bilingualism undermines our shared culture and nation. Mass immigration is weakening our educational system,” he claimed.
Last month The Independent revealed that Mr Goodwin previously suggested people who don’t have children should be taxed extra as punishment.
The former academic also warned that “many women in Britain are having children much too late in life”. The comments were made in a clip posted to his personal YouTube channel in November 2024.
In the video, Mr Goodwin argued: “We need to explain and educate to young children, the next generation, the severity of this crisis.
“We need to also explain to young girls and women the biological reality of this crisis. Many women in Britain are having children much too late in life, and they would prefer to have children much earlier on.”
He got 10,578 votes in the by-election, ahead of Labour’s Angeliki Stogia on 9,364. Ms Spencer secured 14,980 votes.
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