Reform UK backs by-election candidate accused of posting offensive comments
Reform UK says it has no plans to investigate its candidate for the Makerfield by-election, after allegations a social media account linked to him contained offensive posts.
Social media posts from a now-deleted X account associated with Robert Kenyon have been uncovered, showing sexist, violent and homophobic messages.
A spokesperson from Reform UK said: "We fully back Cllr Kenyon."
The statement added that the comments were made "before he entered politics".
The posts include conspiracy theories around the Covid-19 pandemic, lewd comments about presenter Carol Vorderman and offensive sexual comments about female rugby players.
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During the pandemic, Kenyon suggested some media outlets "were complicit" in "global tyranny" in response to a post by far-right influencer Peter Sweden, who has a history of Holocaust denial.
Kenyon also compared Australia's Covid vaccination to Nazism and called for Richard Branson, along with other businessmen, to be hanged for accepting furlough payments to pay their workers in lockdown.
He posted about climate change claiming it is "a middle class issue" and said schools are "teaching about the ice age and that the world has been getting warmer since then".
He also replied to a post about the Labour party using a transphobic slur.
Reform UK 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.”
In a message of support for its candidate, Reform UK explained that interacting with figures on social media does not mean that Kenyon endorses or shares the same views.
Anti-facist campaign group Searchlight also claimed that Kenyon was Facebook friends with three far-right organisers on a now-deleted page, including fascist campaigner Gary Raikes.
Reform UK has denied this connection, saying he had never "spoken or engaged with" Gary Raikes and that when he was made aware of who Raikes was, Kenyon "removed him from his Facebook immediately".
The party is also facing questions about another X account, owned by Kenyon, which was terminated by the social media company in 2024.
On Friday, Nigel Farage shared a nearly 10 minute campaign video of himself and Robert Kenyon talking about his background.
Candidates for the Makerfield by-election have until Tuesday, May 26 to declare.
The current list of candidates is:
Liberal Democrats - Jake Austin
Labour - Andy Burnham
Monster Raving Loony Party - Alan 'Howlin' Laud Hope
Restore Britain - Rebecca Shepherd
Conservatives - Michael Winstanley
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