Nigel Farage's Reform Party has been engulfed in a sexism controversy following revelations about its Makerfield by-election candidate, Robert Kenyon. Kenyon has been linked to a series of sexist social media posts, prompting questions about the party's stance on women's rights.
The Controversial Comments
Kenyon was associated with an account on a rugby fan forum from the 2010s that claimed women presenting sports on television "aren't up to the job and only there to tick a box." The account added, "I'm sexist, sorry but I am." Another account linked to Kenyon on a rugby league forum reportedly stated that women have abortions for "vanity purposes" and to "shag anyone they want."
In now-deleted tweets, Kenyon called abortion a "cowardly act of murdering a defenceless baby" and suggested women falsely claim rape to terminate pregnancies. Reform dismissed the sexist remarks as "locker room banter" and described the abortion comments as "a matter of conscience."
Reform's Response
A Reform Party spokesperson said: "These comments, which are little more than locker room banter, were made more than a decade ago – well before Rob was in politics." On abortion, they added: "Cllr Kenyon is perfectly entitled to his own personal opinions on abortion. In this country, this issue has always been a matter of conscience, regardless of which party a politician represents."
Labour swiftly condemned the candidate, with a spokesperson stating: "Reform are backing a candidate in Makerfield with a proven history of sexism and homophobia. They're normalising these attitudes, hoping you won't notice."
Farage's Own Record
The controversy adds to Nigel Farage's own history of contentious remarks about women. In 2016, Farage defended Donald Trump's "grab them by the p***y" comments as "locker room banter" and "alpha-male boasting." Last year, he sparked outrage by claiming men "are prepared to sacrifice their family lives in order to pursue a career and be successful in a way that fewer women are."
In March, Reform councillor Peter York, vice chairman of West Northamptonshire Council, allegedly said "some women should have never left the kitchen" during an International Women's Day event. The council deemed this a "likely" breach of its code of conduct and arranged civility training.
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