Reform’s Makerfield candidate under fire for resurfaced Russia Crimea comments

WorldPolitics
27 May 2026 • 7:53 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Reform’s Makerfield candidate under fire for resurfaced Russia Crimea comments

  • Reform UK's Makerfield by-election candidate, Robert Kenyon, is facing scrutiny over resurfaced social media comments from 2014 where he suggested Russia was “within their rights” to annex Crimea.
  • In an online forum, Kenyon agreed with a post comparing Russia's actions in Crimea to the UK's sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, calling it “democracy in action”.
  • A Reform UK spokesman defended Kenyon, stating he did not explicitly support Russia's actions in Crimea and is fully opposed to the current invasion of Ukraine.
  • Further resurfaced online posts linked to Kenyon include “degrading” and “sexist” remarks about women, objectifying European women and criticising female sports presenters.
  • Reform UK dismissed these comments as “locker room banter”, while other allegations against Kenyon include sharing transphobic slurs, Covid misinformation, and a sexually explicit post about Carol Vorderman.

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