Reform UK MP Lee Anderson let slip his complete contempt for claimants in an unguarded post on X last week.
Anderson was commenting on an incident at the weekend, when a group of people protested noisily outside a restaurant in Newcastle where Nigel Farage was dining.
Patrick Christys, a presenter on GB News posted “You don’t have to be on the side of Nigel Farage to be against these aggressive, far-left, militant thugs.”
In response Anderson posted “The Great Unwashed. I’d wager half of them at least are on PIP.”
As an example of the kind of bigoted prejudice you might overhear in any bar, it’s unremarkable.
But given that Anderson is not only an MP, but has also been Reform UK’s “spokesman on welfare” since September 2025, it is a little surprising that he would be so openly prejudiced against people who claim disability benefits.
Particularly with a byelection coming up in Gorton and Denton on 26 February, where no fewer than 10,036 people are currently in receipt of PIP, according to the DWP’s statxplore.
At the last election, just under 37,000 votes were cast in Gorton and Denton, on a turnout of 47.8%, with Labour getting a majority of 13,413 over second place Reform. Whoever wins this time around, the result is likely to be much closer.
So insulting around 10,000 potential voters isn’t necessarily the brightest idea.
Though it has to be said that the Reform UK candidate in Gorton and Denton, Matt Goodwin, isn’t shy about insulting claimants either.
In March 2025 Goodwin posted on X
“Last night, on BBC Any Questions, to much shock & horror in the studio, I said I simply do not believe that the millions of people who are claiming sickness benefit in this country are genuinely sick.”
There are currently 8,671 UC health claimants in Gorton and Denton.
Between them, Anderson and Goodwin are going out of their way to show their contempt for a large proportion of their potential voters. Perhaps the voters of Gorton and Denton will return the compliment.
