Reform UK’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election, Robert Kenyon, has been accused of making “degrading” comments about women in a series of resurfaced online posts. An account linked to Kenyon, who is running against Labour’s Andy Burnham, wrote that women cannot “ref, drive or give directions” and declared: “I’m sexist, sorry but I am.”
Posts made on an online rugby fan forum in the 2010s objectified European women’s bodies while stating that English women “don’t care” and “just walk around with their fat bellies and odd shapes pushing a pram at 16 in their PJ’s”. The user also said on the RLFans forum: “European women…all have really good figures and are good looking”, and responded to a post with images of women by saying: “Wouldn’t get me off any of those with a bazooka.”
Further Controversial Remarks
In 2019, responding to a discussion about women presenting matches on Sky, the account wrote: “The women on the panel’s aren’t up to the job and only there to tick a box” and claimed women’s super league players are “no where near the standard” to commentate on games. The remarks were made under the username ‘post’, which also mentions a Twitter handle @robkenyon1 and promotes Kenyon’s book, The Blood Waltz.
In a now-deleted X post from 2019, the user suggested he would “rank higher” than a female presenter and former player because he had “won the Champions League with Accrington Stanley on FIFA Career Mode”. These comments follow earlier offensive X posts highlighted by the campaign group Hope Not Hate.
Reform UK’s Response
A spokesperson for Reform UK did not dispute the latest resurfaced comments but dismissed them as “locker room banter”. This echoes Donald Trump’s 2016 defence of a leaked tape where he boasted about groping women. Labour condemned the remarks, with Anna Turley MP, Chair of the Labour Party, stating: “Nigel Farage needs to urgently explain why he’s happy for a man who proudly admits he’s sexist to represent the people of Makerfield. Robert Kenyon’s comments on women are degrading and an insult to the women and girls who live and work in Makerfield.”
Previous Controversies
The comments are the latest in a string of resurfaced social media posts linked to Kenyon, who has also been accused of sharing transphobic slurs and Covid misinformation. In one deleted X post, @robkenyon1 shared a sexually explicit message sent to Carol Vorderman on her birthday, with another user declaring a desire to perform a sexual act on the presenter. Ms Vorderman condemned the tweets, telling The Mirror: “Fundamentally, Rob Kenyon is a misogynist. He's not just being a lad, he's being a disgusting online abuser who became a Reform councillor three weeks ago.”
Kenyon, born in the constituency and now a self-employed plumber, previously ran in the 2024 election, finishing second with 31.8% of the vote. The June 18 by-election is expected to be a dramatic contest between Reform UK and Burnham, who could use a victory to challenge Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. A Reform UK spokesperson said of the latest posts: “These comments, which are little more than locker room banter, were made more than a decade ago - well before Rob was in politics. We simply don't care about establishment hit jobs. We fully back Rob and are confident he will be an excellent MP for Makerfield.”
