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Robert Kenyon

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

Robert Kenyon
Member of Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council for Bryn with Ashton-in-Makerfield North
Assumed office
7 May 2026
Preceded byScarlett Myler
Personal details
Born
Robert Francis Kenyon

1984/1985 (age 41–42)
Makerfield, England
Political partyReform UK (since 2023)
Children2
OccupationPlumber, politician
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
RankLance corporal

Robert Francis Kenyon[1][2] (born 1984 or 1985) is a British Reform UK politician and self-employed plumber and gas engineer born in Makerfield who currently serves as a councillor for Ashton-in-Makerfield North in Wigan Council. He has worked as a specialist technician in the NHS in Lancashire and previously served as a combat engineer in the Army Reserve, attaining the rank of lance corporal.

Kenyon has stood in local and general elections for Reform UK, finishing second in Makerfield at the 2024 United Kingdom general election, and was elected as a councillor in the 2026 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election. He was selected as Reform UK candidate for the 2026 Makerfield by-election.

He has described himself as coming from a working class background and has cited concerns including public services, housing, infrastructure, and the cost of living crisis. Kenyon has rejected allegations of extremism and racism towards Reform UK and presented it as an alternative to the UK's established political parties. He has received scrutiny and attention due to his activity and interactions on social media.

Life outside politics

Kenyon was born in Makerfield and has said he grew up in a single-parent household and received free school dinners.[3][4] He attended St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield.[5][6] He has said he was raised in a Labour-supporting family and completed an apprenticeship in plumbing aged 18.[3][4][7] Kenyon has worked as a self-employed plumber and gas engineer and a specialist NHS technician in Lancashire.[8][9][4] He formerly served as a combat engineer in the Army Reserve,[10] attaining the rank of lance corporal by 2024, is a Wigan Warriors fan, and practises Muay Thai.[11][7] Kenyon is a father of two children with his wife, who works for a legal firm.[3] As of 20 May 2026, he was 41 years old.[3][4][5]

Political career

Kenyon stood for Reform UK in Winstanley in the 2023 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election. He received 427 (Error in Template:Nts: Fractions are not supported%) votes, came last, and was not elected.[1] During the 2024 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election, he stood in Orrell, received 423 (Error in Template:Nts: Fractions are not supported%) votes, and came third.[12] He contested Makerfield at the 2024 United Kingdom general election. He received 12,803 (Error in Template:Nts: Fractions are not supported%) votes, finishing second to Labour's Josh Simons, who was elected as the member of parliament for the constituency.[13][14]

In May 2026, during the 2026 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election, Kenyon was elected as the councillor for the Ashton-in-Makerfield North ward, with 1,770 (Error in Template:Nts: Fractions are not supported%) votes.[2] Later the same month, Reform UK selected him as its candidate for the 2026 Makerfield by-election.[8][15][9] He pointed out Makerfield had never had an MP born in the constituency, as he was, and vowed "I am going to give this contest my best shot".[10][16][17]

Social media activity

Kenyon was among several Reform UK politicians identified as being Facebook friends with an account belonging to Gary Raikes, a British fascist politician, in June 2024. Previously the leader of the British National Party in Scotland, Raikes founded and leads the New British Union, a neo-fascist group claiming to be a revival of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists that advocates for overthrowing parliamentary democracy via a "fascist revolution".[10][18][19] Reform UK responded to reporting on Kenyon's status as a Facebook friend of Raikes by saying it "does not constitute an endorsement of his views" and that they are "proud to have him represent the party".[10][18][20] A Labour spokesperson said the reporting was "serious and deeply troubling" and that Reform UK's leader, Nigel Farage, had to "urgently come clean on whether Reform were aware of his candidate's apparent fascist friends".[10][21][22]

Posts from Kenyon's Twitter account during the 2024 United Kingdom general election campaign focused heavily on immigration and later included commentary linking local crime, the UK's asylum policy, and the Southport murders to broader claims about immigration and policing. In the aftermath of the murders, he also interacted with and amplified posts from several far-right and alt-right commentators, such as Carl Benjamin and Eva Vlaardingerbroek.[9][23] Kenyon has also used Twitter to voice scepticism over the efficacy of a vaccine in reply to an NHS-run account and express support for Donald Trump.[9][23][24] Kenyon was banned from Twitter for breaking the platform's rules.[10][24][21]

Political views and policies

During his campaign for Makerfield in the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Kenyon said potholes, NHS capacity, housing affordability, apprenticeships, recreational drug use, pub closures, and the cost of living crisis were among the main problems facing the constituency.[25][11] He also criticised what he described as "wokeness" and eroding freedoms, and argued that taxpayers were not getting value for money.[25] He presented himself as a working class candidate shaped by manual work, military service, and NHS employment, and said he wanted to make Makerfield better by supporting Reform UK.[25]

Ahead of the 2026 Makerfield by-election, Kenyon criticised Labour and Conservative governments for outcomes since the Blair era and current national and local conditions.[4][3] He says Reform UK combines ideas from left and right, including support for partial public ownership of infrastructure companies.[7][3] He highlights local priorities including infrastructure, affordability, and public services, citing neglect by national politics.[9][4][3] Kenyon has cited concerns about mass immigration and called for a political clean slate driven by dissatisfaction with mainstream parties.[7][3] He rejects claims of Reform UK being racist or extremist and frames the election as a contest between the party, as outsiders, and established political parties.[7][3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Local elections - Winstanley results". Wigan Council. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Local election results for Bryn with Ashton-in-Makerfield North". Wigan Council. 7 May 2026. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Gutteridge, Nick (19 May 2026). "The 'plucky plumber' who stands between Burnham and No 10". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Langford, Eleanor; Robson, Steve (20 May 2026). "The claims Reform's Makerfield candidate is facing - and his controversial links". The i Paper. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ramzan, Iram (20 May 2026). "The man attempting to derail Andy Burnham's bid for Westminster". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  6. ↑ Graham, Charles (20 May 2026). "We meet the Wigan dad who probably has the best chance of stopping Andy Burnham becoming the next Prime Minister - and he was accompanied by his boss Nigel Farage". Wigan Today. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Ramzan, Iram (19 May 2026). "Reform UK has its very own plucky plumber - what we know about Robert Kenyon". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Docker, Georgie (19 May 2026). "Reform announces Robert Kenyon as Makerfield by-election candidate". BBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Quinn, Ben; Walker, Peter; Elgot, Jessica (19 May 2026). "Andy Burnham to face Reform's Robert Kenyon in crucial Makerfield byelection". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Allegretti, Aubrey; Hogan, Fintan; Bradley, Sian (19 May 2026). "Who is Robert Kenyon, Reform UK candidate in Makerfield by-election?". The Times. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Jackson, Nick (25 June 2024). "'It's like driving over the surface of Mars the potholes are so bad'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Local elections - Orrell results". Wigan Council. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Jackson, Nick (4 July 2024). "Makerfield general election 2024 results in full". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Election result for Makerfield (Constituency) - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". UK Parliament. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  15. ↑ Mata, William (19 May 2026). "Reform chooses Robert Kenyon as candidate for Makerfield by-election". LBC. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  16. ↑ Topping, Stephen (19 May 2026). "Reform UK's Makerfield by-election candidate confirmed as Robert Kenyon". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "Labour and Reform UK choose candidates to fight Makerfield by-election in June". ITV News. 19 May 2026. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Croft, Alex; Cooke, Millie (20 May 2026). "Reform's Makerfield by-election candidate was friends with fascist leader on Facebook". The Independent. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  19. ↑ Elliards, Xander (19 May 2026). "Reform UK Makerfield by-election candidate was 'friends' with neo-fascist leader". The National. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  20. ↑ Maddox, David (20 May 2026). "Why Reform UK couldn't care less about the controversial views of its candidates". The Independent. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Mason, Chris; Belli, Emilia (20 May 2026). "Allegations about Reform candidate's posts are troubling, Labour says". BBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  22. ↑ Elliards, Xander (20 May 2026). "Reform UK defend by-election candidate who was 'friends' with fascist leader". The National. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Jukes, Peter (20 May 2026). "Reading the Riot Act: Reform UK's Makerfield By-Election Candidate During the Summer of Trouble". Byline Times. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Kenyon, Megan (20 May 2026). "Reform unveils its challenger to Andy Burnham". New Statesman. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 "Robert Francis Kenyon for Bryn with Ashton-in-Makerfield North in the Wigan local election". Who Can I Vote For?. 8 June 2024. Archived from the original on 19 May 2026. Retrieved 19 May 2026.

External links


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