<\/p>\n
Labour have accused the Reform UK<\/a> candidate for the Gorton and Denton byelection, Matthew Goodwin, of representing \u201ctoxic politics\u201d after he was endorsed by the far-right agitator Tommy Robinson.<\/p>\n The move will be uncomfortable for Nigel Farage, who has consistently kept the parties he leads separate from Robinson, an anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK\u2019s leading far right figures.<\/p>\n In a post on X on Friday to his 1.8m followers, Robinson quoted a tweet by Hope Not Hate, which researches and campaigns against far-right politics, adding simply: \u201cVote for Matt\u201d.<\/p>\n A Reform spokesperson said in response: \u201cWe have consistently been clear on this issue. He isn\u2019t welcome in the party.\u201d<\/p>\n But Labour, who are seeking to present the party as the only viable leftwing option for votes against Reform in the Greater Manchester<\/a> constituency, said Robinson\u2019s intervention showed that \u201cthe stakes couldn\u2019t be higher\u201d for the 26 February contest.<\/p>\n \u201cTommy Robinson\u2019s endorsement of Reform\u2019s candidate shows who he really is and what he stands for,\u201d a Labour<\/a> campaign spokesperson said. \u201cThe Greens simply cannot win this byelection, leaving a stark choice between unity and change with Labour, or division and risk with Reform.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly a vote for Labour can stop the toxic politics that Reform and Tommy Robinson would bring to Manchester<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n