Reform UK’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election has been accused of sharing transphobic slurs, Covid misinformation and objectifying women in now-deleted social media posts.
Robert Kenyon is running as Nigel Farage’s candidate in the crucial by-election, which is shaping up to be a dramatic contest between Reform UK and Labour’s Andy Burnham, who would likely use a victory to challenge Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.
But in posts made on a now-deleted X account between 2020 and 2022 and shared by campaigners Hope Not Hate, the @robkenyon1 account made offensive comments about women, peddled misinformation about the pandemic and engaged with a Holocaust denier.
In one post, the account shares a sexually explicit post sent to Carol Vorderman on her birthday, in which another user declared he wanted to perform a sexual act on the presenter.
Another user responded to the post saying: “If you’re prepared to put this on a public forum, I would suggest that your computer drive probably needs checking.”
But @robkenyon1 replied: “He’s only saying what we’re all thinking.”
A further post by the user said he had been blocked from the Sky Sports Rugby League Twitter page because he “said something about womens rugby”.
The account also used transphobic slurs and, during the Covid-19 pandemic, peddled conspiracy theories about vaccinations.
Replying to someone who said the Covid vaccines “help a lot”, the account replied “What a load of c***”, and compared Covid vaccination policies in Australia to Nazism.
It also suggested the media was “complicit” in “global tyranny” when responding to a post by Peter Sweden, a far-right influencer with a history of Holocaust denial.
A Labour party spokesperson condemned the “disgusting” posts.
“From creepy remarks about women, to peddling baseless conspiracy theories, this is appalling stuff from a parliamentary candidate,” the spokesman told the BBC. “Nigel Farage needs to explain why Reform UK selected him in the first place.”
Bu when the posts were put to Reform UK, a spokesman said they “fully backed” Mr Kenyon.
“He is an excellent, local candidate who we are confident will be a superb MP for Makerfield,” a spokesperson said. “These comments were made before he was in politics. Rob isn’t a polished, professional politician and doesn’t speak like one. That’s precisely why he’ll be a straight-talking, effective voice for normal working people in Makerfield.”
The party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, took to X to defend Mr Kenyon from what he called the “Westminster wokerati” criticising the posts.
“Whining leftie fails to realise Makerfield have already voted for our great candidate in their many thousands. Local man, local tradesman, real job. Westminster wokerati so out of touch,” he wrote.
Mr Kenyon, who was born in the constituency and now works as a self-employed plumber, previously ran in the 2024 election where he finished in second place in the constituency with 31.8 per cent of the vote.
After he was announced as the party’s candidate for the upcoming by-election, it emerged he previously Facebook ‘friends’ with Gary Raikes, the neo-fascist founder of the New British Union.
The Independent understands that the page Mr Kenyon was friends with was a political page, rather than a personal one. Reform stated that the Facebook friendship “does not constitute an endorsement of his [Raikes’] views”.
Raikes’ NBU, which was formed in 2013, claims to be a revival of Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists. The party supports fascist groups including Golden Darn in Greece, and Raikes himself has been previously photographed in fascist uniform.
A Labour Party spokesperson described the revelation as deeply troubling”, adding: “Nigel Farage needs to urgently explain if whether Reform were aware of his candidate’s apparent fascist friends before selecting him.
“It simply beggars belief. Voters in Makerfield and across Britain deserve an answer.”
