Labour Presses Reform Over Candidate's 2024 X Ban and Fascist Facebook Link

5 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 20

Labour said "serious and deeply troubling allegations" surround Reform UK’s Makerfield by-election candidate Robert Kenyon, demanding Nigel Farage explain whether the party knew about his apparent fascist-linked online associations.
Searchlight says Kenyon was Facebook friends with fascist campaigner Gary Raikes on a now-deleted page; Reform does not dispute the connection but says the two never spoke and that a Facebook friendship was not an endorsement.
Reform also offered no explanation for why Kenyon’s X account was terminated in 2024, saying only that his Facebook page was removed after he was elected a local councillor earlier this month and replaced with a public-facing profile.
The row lands as the Makerfield field widens: the Greens are selecting a candidate on Wednesday despite no appetite for a Labour pact, while Restore Britain has already chosen a contender that could siphon some Reform support.

Amid fascist friend allegations, what is Reform UK hiding about its candidate's terminated X account?

Is Reform UK's controversial candidate a vetting failure or a deliberate populist strategy?