Reform MP Danny Kruger has said the party's Makerfield by-election candidate should not be removed, despite lewd comments about Carol Vorderman. The ex-Tory MP stated in a heated BBC exchange that he would not 'police' the candidate's previous remarks after the former Countdown star accused Robert Kenyon of being a 'misogynist'.
Background to the Controversy
The controversy emerged after campaigning group HopeNotHate discovered that Mr Kenyon, selected as Reform's candidate to challenge Labour's Andy Burnham in the crucial by-election, had two X accounts. One has been suspended by the platform, and the other has since been deleted, according to HopeNotHate.
During an interview on the Today programme, presenter Emma Barnett confronted Mr Kruger with the offensive posts. She said: 'In a now deleted Twitter account on Christmas Eve no less in 2021, he [Mr Kenyon] supported a message sent by another man to the TV presenter Carol Vorderman - and I apologise to our listeners but I think they need to hear this. There was a message sent to Carol Vorderman that said… 'Happy Birthday Carol, My God I would love to smell & lick your a*******'. Your candidate for Makerfield replied 'he's only saying what we're all thinking' with a thumbs up and a laughing emoji. Is that the type of better politician you think the British people deserve?'
Kruger's Response
Mr Kruger initially responded: 'What you're seeing there - I didn't know about that - is obviously a private comment.' When told it was public, he continued: 'Well, let me explain, the great challenge for social media for private people is that they use it as if they are chatting to their friends in the pub - clearly an inappropriate thing to say publicly. I'm not going to judge people for what are essentially regarded at the time and intended as private conversations - clearly that is not the sort of thing you want an elected politician to make. Quite rightly, clearly, he's deleted that post and regrets it.'
Carol Vorderman told The Mirror last week: 'Fundamentally, Rob Kenyon is a misogynist. I wouldn't let him in my house if he was a local plumber in my area, not with what he's been posting online. There is always a pattern.' In response, Mr Kruger said: 'Like I say, this was clearly something said in a different context. Not an appropriate thing to say publicly, and I am sure he recognises that too.'
Reform's Stance
Asked whether Mr Kenyon needed to be removed as Reform's candidate in Makerfield, Mr Kruger replied: 'No I don't. It is clearly wrong for politicians to talk in that way. He was not a politician at the time, he's an ordinary man, from an ordinary place and what he's done now is to step forward, outraged at the state of our country…'
After the posts from a now-deleted X account came to light, Reform said it stood by the candidate, claiming his lack of 'polish' is what would make him an effective MP. In response to HopeNotHate's investigation, a Reform UK spokesman said last week: 'We fully back Cllr Kenyon. He is an excellent, local candidate who we are confident will be a superb MP for Makerfield. 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.'
