Allegations about Reform candidate's posts are troubling, Labour says

Labour says there are "serious and deeply troubling allegations" relating to the social media pages of the Reform UK candidate in the Makerfield by-election.

The campaigning organisation Searchlight claims Robert Kenyon was friends with fascist campaigner Gary Raikes on a now deleted Facebook page, a claim that is not disputed by Reform UK.

Kenyon also had an X account terminated by X in 2024. Reform are offering no explanation as to why this happened.

The party says their candidate's Facebook page was removed after he was elected as a local councillor earlier this month.

They say that the now deleted page was a conventional Facebook page and they concluded he should have a public facing profile once he was elected to public office as a councillor.

The party adds that Kenyon never spoke or was in touch with Raikes and being a Facebook friend "does not constitute an endorsement of his views".

A Labour spokesman said: "These are serious and deeply troubling allegations. Nigel Farage needs to urgently come clean on whether Reform were aware of his candidate's apparent fascist friends.

"Robert Kenyon must also explain himself to those he is seeking to represent. What is his relationship with this man? Voters in Makerfield and across Britain deserve an answer."

Separately, the Green Party of England and Wales will select its candidate for the by-election on Wednesday.

Some on the Left pondered whether a deal could be engineered between the Greens and Labour for the Greens not to stand, but there was no appetite for this.

The Green Party is pitching itself as an alternative to Labour on the left across the country and felt standing aside would weaken this claim.

But there remains a question about how much effort they may conclude they should put into the campaign ahead.

The former co leader of the Green Party in England and Wales, MP Adrian Ramsay, said on social media that "progressive parties need to recognise that the big threat to the country is a Reform-led govt. And in my view avoiding that will involve some give and take from everyone. Burnham must clearly set out his position on a fair voting system."

Restore Britain have already selected a candidate, which could chip away at some support for Reform UK.

The candidates so far standing in the Makerfield by-election:

• Andy Burnham, The Labour Party
• Robert Kenyon, Reform UK
• Alan "Howlin" Laud Hope, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party