Reform UK’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election, Robert Kenyon, was previously Facebook ‘friends’ with a neo-fascist leader.
Mr Kenyon has been selected by Nigel Farage’s party to run for parliament against Labour’s Andy Burnham, the current mayor of Greater Manchester, who is believed to be seeking to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the leadership should he succeed in winning the by-election.
When Mr Kenyon served as the Reform candidate for the 2024 general election, Searchlight magazine reported that he was 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”.
Meanwhile, The Times also reported that 41 of the Reform candidates at the general election were friends with Raikes, the former leader in Scotland of the British National Party (BNP).
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.
When the reported link between Raikes and Kenyon were put to Reform UK, a spokesperson for the party said: “A [Facebook] friend does not constitute an endorsement of his views.
“Robert Kenyon is a brilliant candidate and we are proud to have him represent the party. British politics needs more real people involved like Robert.”
Reform has faced repeated issues with its vetting processes, with several candidates accused of making racist and offensive comments on social media in the lead up to the local elections.
The party was accused of a failure to deal with candidates in the north of England exposed by The Independent, who espoused racist, misogynist and homophobic views on social media.
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.”
Since May last year, 17 of the party’s councillors have vacated their seats. In 12 of these cases (70 per cent) the circumstances related to vetting or conduct issues, a lack of engagement with council duties, or basic administrative issues that were not spotted.
The revelations add to concerns that Mr Farage is failing to tackle extremism in his party despite his claims that Reform’s vetting system is the best in British politics.
Mr Farage has described the contest between Mr Burnham and Mr Kenyon, a local plumber, as a “David versus Goliath battle”.
The Labour candidate has put himself forward as the candidate to “change Labour”, using a campaign video to call for a “new path for Britain”, in what was widely viewed as a pitch for himself to challenge for Sir Keir’s position, rather than only to serve as Makerfield MP.
Mr Kenyon, who was born in the constituency and now works as a self-employed plumber, has also served as an army reservist and previously worked as a specialist technician for the NHS in Lancashire.
He ran in the 2024 election where he finished in second place with 31.8 per cent of the vote.
Announcing his plan to stand, he said: “Makerfield has never had a member of parliament who was actually born in Makerfield.
“This will be a tough fight but I am going to give this contest my best shot.”
Meanwhile, Mr Farage said: “This by-election contest is now a David versus Goliath battle. This is ‘the plucky plumber’ taking on ‘open borders Burnham’. Only Reform UK can beat Labour in this by-election.”
Mr Burnham is looking to reassure voters in the Leave-supporting Makerfield constituency that he does not wish to rejoin European Union, which he said last year he would like to see happen in his lifetime.
He has also been looking to calm the bond markets by insisting he will stick to the government’s fiscal rules.
The by-election is likely to take place on June 18.
