Makerfield by-election

Reform says ‘entirely reasonable’ for its Makerfield candidate to blame Hillary Clinton for Manchester Arena bombing

Reform has decided to continue supporting its by-election candidate in Makerfield, despite a number of scandals involving past social media […]

Basit Mahmood · 2 mins read

Reform has decided to continue supporting its by-election candidate in Makerfield, despite a number of scandals involving past social media posts which have exposed his worrying views.

Robert Kenyon has been found to have posted far-right and misogynistic views as well as conspiracy theories. He was recently exposed by the Telegraph for claiming that Russia was ‘within their rights to invade Crimea’ and ha also claimed that women “can’t drive” and that they get abortions for “vanity purposes”.

It’s also been revealed by the Times that Kenyon blamed Hilary Clinton for the horrific Manchester Arena bombing.

He is quoted praising President Trump in 2019, saying: “He beat Hilary Clinton who is by far one of the most dangerous and evil people to have walked this planet, she does it with a smile and lipstick that’s all.

“She created Isis and the instability in the Middle East with her foreign policy during the Obama administration when she was the US secretary of state.”

He is quoted saying in another comment in 2020: “Had she [Hilary Clinton] stayed out of Libya, the M.E.N. arena bombing wouldn’t have happened.”

His comments were criticised by Labour Chair Anna Turley who said: “Nigel Farage needs to urgently come clean as to why he’s happy to have a candidate standing for his Party who peddled dangerous false narratives about the appalling Manchester Arena bombing.

“The fault of this vile act of terrorism lies squarely with the terrorists themselves.”

However, rather than take action against their candidate, Reform have doubled down on his comments and defending him, claiming they were reasonable views.

A Reform UK spokesman said: “These are mainstream, entirely reasonable views. Like Nigel Farage and many other prominent politicians, Rob opposed the disastrous Western interventions in Iraq and Syria.

“It is also perfectly legitimate to point out that the instability in the Middle East has contributed to terrorist attacks in the West.”

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