Reform by-election candidate 'was Facebook friends with neo-fascist' as Labour hits out at 'deeply troubling' allegations

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Reform UK announced this week that Kenyon will stand against Labour Mayor for Greater Manchester Andy Burnham in the Makerfield by-election, with other parties expecting to announce their picks for the vote in the days to come.

It has since emerged that Kenyon, a self-employed plumber, was friends with fascist organiser Gary Raikes on a now-deleted Facebook page, according to the Searchlight campaign group.

Kenyon, who has served as an army reservist and previously worked as a specialist technician for the NHS in Lancashire, also had an X account terminated by the platform in 2024.

Reform has not denied the allegations, but said the candidate's Facebook page was taken down after he was elected as a local councillor on May 7.

The now-removed page was reportedly a conventional Facebook page, and the party has said he needed a public-facing profile after becoming a councillor.

Read more: Will Andy Burnham be able to beat Reform in Makerfield? What the data shows

Read more: Reform chooses plumber as candidate for Makerfield by-election

Reform has insisted that being a Facebook friend "does not constitute an endorsement of his views" and claimed Kenyon never spoke to or was in touch with the fascist organiser.

Raikes, 67, is the leader of the neo-fascist New British Union, an attempted revival of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF).

He was previously a British National Party and Britain First official.

Labour has urged Reform leader Nigel Farage to reveal whether he was aware of the connection and demanded an explanation from Kenyon.

"These are serious and deeply troubling allegations. Nigel Farage needs to urgently come clean on whether Reform were aware of his candidate's apparent fascist friends," a Labour spokesperson said.

They added: "Robert Kenyon must also explain himself to those he is seeking to represent. What is his relationship with this man? Voters in Makerfield and across Britain deserve an answer."

Announcing Kenyon as the candidate on Wednesday, Farage said: "When he [Kenyon] campaigned here at the general election, hundreds of people joined as friends, and one of them turned out to be unsavoury. "I am utterly confident that in Rob, we've got somebody who's done his bit for his country, done his bit for himself, does his bit for the community."

Kenyon ran in the 2024 election where he finished in second place and has recently been elected to Wigan Council for Bryn with Ashton-in-Makerfield North.

He has recently shared a picture of him drinking in Wetherspoons, stating that he and not Mr Burnham could be found in a Wigan pub on a Friday night.

The Makerfield by-election will be held on June 18.

Josh Simons stood down as MP for Makerfield to allow Labour's Andy Burnham a way back into the Commons, something he would need to do in order to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for party leadership.

Minister Dan Jarvis said Labour needs to listen to the message delivered by voters in the local elections and act, when asked if his party needs to change.

Asked about Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s comments that “Labour needs to change if we are to regain people’s trust”, Mr Jarvis told LBC: “Well, I think the Prime Minister has acknowledged that the recent election results provide a critique on the performance of the Government.

“So, yes, we do need to make sure that we are delivering on the priorities of the people. The Prime Minister’s absolutely focused on that."

Restore Britain has announced its Makerfield by-election candidate will be Rebecca Shepherd, a businesswoman.

Howling Laud Hope of the Monster Raving Looney Party is the other candidate to have declared so far.

A Reform UK spokesman 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."