Overview
- Robert Kenyon was publicly challenged on BBC Question Time and, after being asked to apologise for past derogatory comments about women, refused to offer a direct apology, a confrontation that escalated criticism of him and his party.
- The contentious material linked to Kenyon includes posts on a now-deleted X account and an old rugby forum that praised a sexually explicit comment about Carol Vorderman and expressed anti‑abortion views, which reporters and panelists cited on air.
- Media and public reaction has been swift, with campaigners, columnists and the Mirror launching a reader poll, Carol Vorderman writing to local women, and local voters reporting they are divided over whether the controversy changes their vote.
- Kenyon also declined to defend Nigel Farage over a reported £5 million gift from donor Christopher Harborne, a matter that is under inquiry by Parliament's standards commissioner and has become part of questions about Reform's funding and leadership.
- The episode is raising wider concerns about Reform UK's stance on women's rights, candidate vetting and the by-election's stakes because a Labour win for Andy Burnham could return him to Parliament and enable a leadership challenge.