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Labour Defeats Reform UK by Nearly 10,000 Votes in Makerfield By-Election
@Independent reported that Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon was defeated by Labour's Andy Burnham. The loss followed Reform's sweep of local council seats in the area weeks earlier. Internal party figures cited candidate remarks about women as a factor.
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Reform UK lost the Makerfield by-election to Labour candidate Andy Burnham by almost 10,000 votes. The party's candidate, Robert Kenyon, had faced criticism over past social media remarks about women. @Independent reported that Reform UK had won all council seats in Makerfield only a few weeks before the by-election.
Towler added that Reform-minded women on the doorstep said they would not vote for a candidate who had made those remarks without a proper apology. Nigel Farage dismissed the criticism of Kenyon during the campaign as “pub talk,” @Independent reported.
Reform UK also declined invitations to appear on Sunday morning political shows on Sky and GB News, saying it does not usually participate without a bid from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg program.
A party spokesman noted that its figures had appeared on air throughout the previous Friday. Sources told @Independent that pressure is being placed on Farage to reduce the role of home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf, whose “mass deportation” rhetoric is viewed as alienating middle-ground voters.
Some right-wing supporters who previously backed Reform UK have shifted to Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain.
The same sources said “serious questions need to be asked” about the Makerfield result and noted ongoing anger over the selection of Matt Goodwin as the party’s candidate for Gorton and Denton.
