Reform candidate in fresh row over posts saying women cannot drive, referee, or give directions
Reform UK’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election, Robert Kenyon, described himself as “sexist” in a series of freshly resurfaced online posts, declaring on a rugby fan forum that women cannot “ref, drive or give directions”.
The remarks, made under the username ‘post’ on the RLFans forum between 2010 and 2019, also included degrading comparisons between English and European women. In one exchange, the user wrote that European women “all have really good figures and are good looking”, while English women, he claimed, “don’t care” and “just walk around with their fat bellies and odd shapes pushing a pram at 16 in their PJ’s”. In a separate post, responding to images of women, he said: “Wouldn’t get me off any of those with a bazooka.”
The forum account is directly linked to Kenyon because, in other comments, it mentions his X (formerly Twitter) handle @robkenyon1 and promotes his book, The Blood Waltz. On X, a now-deleted post from 2019 saw the same user suggest he would “rank higher” than a female presenter and former player because he had “won the Champions League with Accrington Stanley on FIFA Career Mode”.
Kenyon’s online activity also included a series of comments about women working in rugby broadcasting. In 2019, responding to a discussion about women presenting matches on Sky, he wrote: “The women on the panel’s aren’t up to the job and only there to tick a box.” He argued that Women’s Super League players are “no where near the standard” to commentate on games, and in other messages made crude remarks about female rugby players, including references to “handle their knockers” and “if it’s not ‘t***, and a****’”.
Beyond the sexist commentary, the account linked to Kenyon has also faced accusations of sharing transphobic slurs and Covid-19 misinformation. Posts emerged that included comparisons of Australian Covid vaccination policies to Nazism, as well as engagement with the far-right influencer Peter Imanuelsen. A separate X account owned by Kenyon was suspended by the platform in 2024; the reason for the suspension has not been disclosed. Additionally, Kenyon was found to be Facebook friends with three far-right organisers, including Gary Raikes, on a now-deleted page. Reform UK later said that page was used for political campaigning and that friendship does not constitute endorsement.
Reform UK’s defence
A spokesperson for Reform UK did not dispute the authenticity of the latest resurfaced posts but dismissed them as “little more than locker room banter”. The party drew a parallel to Donald Trump’s 2016 defence of a leaked tape in which he boasted about groping women, which Trump described as “locker room talk”. The spokesperson emphasised that the comments were made “more than a decade ago – well before Rob was in politics”, and stated: “We simply don’t care about establishment hit jobs. We fully back Rob and are confident he will be an excellent MP for Makerfield.”
The row has also shone a light on Reform UK’s candidate vetting process, which has faced repeated scrutiny. In July 2025, the party announced a new, less stringent “common sense” vetting system, encouraging those who had previously failed vetting to reapply. Reform previously hired the company Vetting.com for approximately £144,000, but claimed the firm failed to provide research. Candidates are also sent for psychometric testing.
Labour’s condemnation
Labour swiftly seized on the revelations, with Anna Turley MP, Chair of the Labour Party, demanding that Nigel Farage explain why Kenyon was allowed to stand. “Nigel Farage needs to urgently explain why he’s happy for a man who proudly admits he’s sexist to represent the people of Makerfield,” she said. “Robert Kenyon’s comments on women are degrading and an insult to the women and girls who live and work in Makerfield. Nigel Farage needs to stop selecting people with such retrograde views from standing for public office for Reform. The only way to stop Reform’s toxic politics from taking hold in Makerfield is to vote for Labour’s Andy Burnham on Thursday 18 June.”
The broadcaster Carol Vorderman, who was the target of one of the posts – a sexually explicit message shared by Kenyon’s account on her birthday, with the caption “He’s only saying what we’re all thinking” – also condemned him. “Fundamentally, Rob Kenyon is a misogynist,” she said. “He’s not just being a lad, he’s being a disgusting online abuser who became a Reform councillor three weeks ago.”
Kenyon, a self-employed plumber and army reservist who previously worked as a specialist technician for the NHS in Lancashire, was born in the constituency. He stood for Reform UK in the 2024 general election, finishing second with 31.8% of the vote. In the local elections on 7 May 2026, he was elected as a Reform councillor for Bryn with Ashton-in-Makerfield North ward. The by-election on 18 June was triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Josh Simons, allowing Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, to stand for the seat – a move widely seen as a prelude to a potential leadership challenge against Sir Keir Starmer. Makerfield is now considered a Labour-Reform marginal after Reform won all eight council wards within the constituency in the local elections.
