How Reform's attitudes to women could shape policy

As the party attempts to get election-ready, we look at what key figures have said about marriage, abortion and fertility

- MILLIE COOKE

Reform UK has a chequered history when it comes to women and families, with some of the party's more prominent figures having faced criticism for their views.

Matt Goodwin, the party’s candidate in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election, has previously called for young girls to be given a “biological reality” check, as well as suggesting people who don’t have children should be taxed extra as punishment, while the party’s new head of policy, Dr James Orr, has previously argued that marriage is best for children when it is between a man and a woman.

Nigel Farage himself has also faced criticism for his comments about women, last year suggesting that men are prepared to sacrifice family lives for successful careers in a way many women aren’t.

As the party surges in the polls and attempts to get its top team ready to fight an election, The Independent has taken a look at exactly what key figures in the party have said about marriage, women, abortion and fertility - and what it might mean for policy.

Marriage

In 2025, Mr Farage was accused of “vile homophobia” for claiming straight couples are more stable than gay relationships during a press conference welcoming former Conservative MP Danny Kruger to Reform UK.

Mr Farage, who has twice been married and is now in a relationship, said “the most stable relationships tend to be between men and women” after he was asked about past comments made by the right-winger, who became the first sitting Tory MP to join Mr Farage’s party.

Mr Kruger, who defected to Reform from the Tories last year, previously told a National Conservatism conference that marriage between men and women was “the only basis for a safe and successful society”.

This is a view that has been echoed by the party’s new head of policy.