Why Reform UK couldn’t care less about the controversial views of its candidates
Reform UK has selected Robert Kenyon as their candidate for the Makerfield by-election, despite his connection to a neo-fascist leader. The party appears indifferent to the controversial views of its members, as evidenced by Kenyon's social media cleanup prior to his announcement. Reform UK maintains that being Facebook friends with a far-right figure does not imply endorsement of those views.
- ▪Robert Kenyon is the Makerfield candidate for Reform UK.
- ▪He was previously Facebook friends with Gary Raikes, a neo-fascist leader.
- ▪Reform UK claims that Kenyon's friendship does not constitute an endorsement of Raikes' views.
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| Original publisher | The Independent |
| Canonical URL | https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/reform-farage-fascists-kenyon-makerfield-byelection-b2980217.html |
| Publication time | Wed, 20 May 2026 11:50:20 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-20T12:10:02.408Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-20T12:10:02.408Z |
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NewsUKUK PoliticsNEWS ANALYSISWhy Reform UK couldn’t care less about the controversial views of its candidatesPolitical editor David Maddox looks at why Reform UK selected Robert Kenyon as their Makerfield by-election candidate despite him being Facebook friends with neo-fascist leader Gary Raikes, the founder of the New British UnionWednesday 20 May 2026 12:50 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove…
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