Reform UK's Makerfield candidate appeared to doubt seriousness of Covid on X

A Reform UK candidate for the Makerfield byelection posted messages questioning the seriousness of Covid and the effectiveness of vaccines. The candidate previously interacted with far-right figures and expressed strong support for Donald Trump. Carol Vorderman asked the candidate to apologise for past comments made about her on X. The candidate, a plumber, used an X account that has since been deleted and posted multiple Covid-related claims. Posts included statements that Covid was not making people sicker, that he had no booster, and that he had Covid asymptomatically. He advised others to wait longer, take vitamins, and stop boosters. He also used profanity toward Chris Whitty after Whitty urged booster vaccinations, and he posted claims that variant news could be used to scare parents into vaccinating children.

"It’s not making people sicker, I’ve no booster and had covid last week asymptomatic, he wrote. When challenged as to why he was expressing such views based on just his own experiences, Kenyon replied: At the same time I had it, four other people on the course I was on caught it all the same as me, no symptoms. He said his 70-something mother-in-law had experienced it as a cold despite having chronic lung disease."

"The next day, replying on X to someone who said they were ill with Covid, Kenyon said: Wait longer, take vitamins, stop having boosters. In February 2023, Kenyon quote-tweeted a Sky News post about Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, urging people to get Covid booster vaccines, saying Whitty can fuck right off."

"The messages included one from January 2022 arguing that news of a variant that may affect children more could be a way to scare parents into getting their kids jabbed, adding: I smell a rat. Vaccine scepticism or conspiracies are not unknown in Reform."

"Separately, the broadcaster Carol Vorderman has asked Kenyon to apologise for disgusting comments he made about her on X in the past. Kenyon, a plumber who stood for Nigel Farage's party in Makerfield during the 2024 general election and is going up against Andy Burnham in the byelection on 18 June, was a prolific poster on X, using an account that has since been deleted."

Read at www.theguardian.com