Steven Bartlett & Reform UK: What in the Handmaid’s Tale is this?

Footage has been unearthed by The Independent of Reform UK candidate Matt Goodwin from his own YouTube channel in 2024, where he called for “young girls and women” to be given a “biological reality” check.

This follows an earlier report by the paper revealing Goodwin suggested people who don’t have children should be taxed extra as punishment.

Around the same time, Steven Bartlett discussed declining birth rates on Diary of a CEO, including a conversation about women’s emancipation and fertility trends with podcaster, Chris Williamson.

Whilst not wishing to platform the outright misogyny, as Financielle is a platform centred around women and money, we couldn’t help but comment.

In solidarity with the thousands of views on social media of women globally, there have also been some strong figureheads leading the debate.

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Grace Beverley spoke on her Instagram, highlighting that not only is this a dangerous testing of thought-out policy considerations in the wider public domain, the very idea of using reproduction as a financial incentive to avoid tax targets a whole host of different women and circumstances. 

There are women who have fertility issues, who have struggled with loss, who have left abusive relationships at the hands of men.

There are women who cannot financially afford children, or who do not wish to have children, either because the world is not set up for women to both have children and have a life and career, or because they simply choose not to. Same sex couples who may want children, but are faced with the financial burden of funding fertility.

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Stella Creasy MP weighed in on the debate also sharing how this is about power, not fertility and parenthood. She suggested that if such men were concerned about these issues, they would direct attention to the facts such as, ironically, declining sperm quality.

Missing from this debate is any serious discussion about structural solutions: better parental leave, genuinely flexible work, affordable childcare. These are the issues parents raise again and again as the reason they delay or avoid having children, or decide it simply isn’t financially realistic.

The worrying thing in all this?

Platforming these ideas as potential solutions is so incredibly dangerous. In Bartlett’s case, it’s even more worrying since his recent investment in Hot Smart Rich – a platform that at its core is set up to empower – not control them. 

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Treating these ideas as viable policy responses is dangerous. And in Bartlett’s case, it raises questions, particularly when he has invested in a platform like Hot Smart Rich that claims to champion female empowerment. It’s difficult to reconcile those two positions without acknowledging the contradiction. 

Our ask is simple: take this debate seriously. Conversations like this shape the reality of our everyday lives. If we care about families, autonomy and financial sustainability, we need to challenge flawed narratives like this with our voices, platforms and ultimately, our votes.