Brexiters peddled nationalistic pish', said Reform UK's Makerfield candidate

Robert Kenyon, Reform UK’s candidate for the Makerfield byelection, made posts criticizing Brexit as an economically self-harming project. He wrote that leaving would shoot the economy in the foot short term while still resulting in the same EU rules and regulations, but without any say. He also argued that the EU argument about unelected institutions would continue, with no representation. He blamed politicians for promoting nationalism and for taking the working class vote. The posts were found on a defunct rugby league forum and were followed by additional reports about other controversial views, including skepticism about vaccines and Covid, support for Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea, interactions with far-right figures, and a lewd comment about Carol Vorderman.

"All Brexit means is we've shot our economy in the foot for the short term, things will get back to the way they were and we will still end up under the same rules and regs of the EU as we always have but with no say in the matter, he wrote. The argument to leave was because the EU were unelected and we didn't get a say, well that will carry on but with no say whatsoever. And add to that our glorious leader [David Cameron] has just thrown the towel in because of the mess he's created. As Captain Mainwaring would say: Stupid boy'."

"Now we will have to pick up the pieces as always, they peddled the nationalistic pish and got [the] working class vote, bit silly if you ask me. Asked about the comments, Kenyon told the Telegraph that while he had voted for Brexit at the time, the decision to leave was a huge decision and people were entit"

"The comments by Robert Kenyon, unearthed on a defunct rugby league forum and first reported by the Telegraph, follow the emergence of another post in which he said people would be wrong to assume he had voted for Brexit. Kenyon's prolific online output on the rugby forum and on since-deleted X accounts has prompted a sequence of stories since he was selected to take on Labour's Andy Burnham in the 18 June byelection."

"In other posts, Kenyon, a plumber local to the constituency, expressed scepticism about vaccines and the seriousness of Covid; backed Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea; interacted with far-right figures; and endorsed a lewd comment about Carol Vorderman, for which the TV presenter has asked him to apologise."

Read at www.theguardian.com