According to the Guardian’s Jessica Elgot, voters in Makerfield are baffled by a decision from the Reform candidate. The candidate in question is Robert Kenyon, and the decision he made is to not apologise for the comments he made online:
Voters who had noticed Kenyon’s online comments (almost everyone was aware) were slightly baffled he hadn’t apologised. Feel a difference here between “never back down” attitude of online debate versus what people expect in real life.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 9, 2026
Kenyon has a track record of derogatory comments
When it comes to Kenyon’s online comments, there are many which may have caused offence. As the Canary has reported, these comments include the following on women’s rights:
I’d hazard a guess that the majority [of abortions] are for vanity purposes like unwanted pregnancies.
On the question of whether this makes him a sexist, the answer is Kenyon doesn’t care, because he’s also said:
I’m sexist, sorry I am.
While Kenyon technically said “sorry” here, he’s steadfastly refused to apologise since.
Kenyon also said:
Reproductive rights? Women’s rights? They can dress it up all they want, they are deciding to kill a baby inside the womb…What they mean is they want to shag anyone they want and if they get caught they get a second chance and treat it [sic] as a secondary last chance form of contraception. They ain’t kidding anyone.
Kenyon sells himself as a straight talker, but really he’s just another Billy big-bollocks who wants to import Yank-style Christo-fascist politics to the UK.
Oh, and he’s also a coward because while it’s true he won’t apologise for his words, he won’t stand by them either.
He literally went for ‘how can I hate women, when my mum was a woman?’ https://t.co/6oTZDGwRKh
— Willem Moore (@willem_moore_uk) June 4, 2026
Honestly, it’s a bit odd that he’s a plumber given how much time he’s spent sitting on fences in regard to his own opinions.
Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon on #BBCQuestionTime:
Audience: “I’d rather have a career politician than a plumber who’s a sexist.”
“You described yourself as a sexist.”
Kenyon: “Allegedly.”
Then refuses to apologise to Carol Vorderman after agreeing in 2021 that a creep wanting… pic.twitter.com/gtDR4WqgtC
—
King
How is this any different to the careerist politicians who refuse to answer questions? The careerist politicians Reform is supposedly here to replace?
On the the Vorderman comments, the Guardianreported:
In 2021, Kenyon responded to a social media post about [Carol] Vorderman in which another user wrote: “My god I’d love to smell and lick your arsehole”, by saying: “He’s only saying what we’re all thinking”.
You’d think this would be an easy one to apologise for, but Kenyon flat-out refused to do so. Adding insult to injury, he attacked Vorderman for speaking out, saying:
There’s been a lot of noise about this indirect, sort of vulgar tweet that I’ve made, but I’ve not heard much about Carol’s thoughts on Labour not having the grooming gangs inquiry last year or what she thinks about biological males being allowed into single sex spaces.
Kenyon also claimed women “can’t drive“, which is ironic in the sense that he’s driving women to not vote for him.
It doesn’t end with sexism either.
Rob Kenyon has still not apologised for his homophobic or sexist comments.#Makerfield pic.twitter.com/zg91qJf7eT
— Reform Party UK Exposed
The more they see of him, the less they want
Elgot also observed the following:
Spent Monday in parts of Ashton and Orrell where Labour are targeting around 16% still undecided voters in Makerfield by-election.
Some observations
– Many who voted Reform only weeks ago are prepared to vote for Burnham. There is a *big* gender divide and QT was a big factor
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 9, 2026
Many of the clips above are from Kenyon’s Question Time appearance. It was there that he was asked to apologise for his past sexism, and it was there that he refused to do so.
Following Kenyon’s appearance, the Canary‘s Maddison Wheeldon wrote:
Rather than recognising why people took issue with the Reform candidate’s remarks or offering any meaningful apology, Kenyon has chosen to dispute the criticism itself. That approach has only deepened concerns about his dangerous judgment.
When someone seeks influence and authority, their willingness to listen to criticism and reflect on their mistakes matters just as much as the views they express.
Given all this, it’s unsurprising women don’t see Reform as having their interests in mind. What’s disappointing is that many men seemingly don’t care.
As the vast majority of these men were no doubt born of woman, this puts to bed the idea that lads can’t be sexist if they have mothers.
Featured image via Christopher Furlong/ Getty Images
By Willem Moore
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