Reform’s Danny Kruger has voiced his opinion that the Makerfield by-election candidate for the party should not be ousted, despite making inappropriate comments about Carol Vorderman.
Former Conservative MP Kruger made this statement during a heated exchange on the BBC, indicating that he would not scrutinize the candidate’s past statements, following accusations of misogyny from the former Countdown star against Robert Kenyon.
These developments came to light after the campaigning group HopeNotHate discovered that Kenyon, chosen as Reform’s candidate to contest Labour’s Andy Burnham in the crucial by-election, had two X accounts. One of the accounts has been suspended by the platform, while the other has been deleted.
During a discussion on the Today program, presenter Emma Barnett highlighted a deleted tweet from Kenyon supporting a lewd message sent to Carol Vorderman, which he responded to with approval. Kruger, in response, acknowledged the incident as a private comment that should not have been made public.
Carol Vorderman had previously labeled Kenyon as a misogynist and expressed her reservations about his online behavior. Despite the controversy, Kruger defended Kenyon, citing the challenge of distinguishing private conversations on social media from public statements.
Reform maintained its support for Kenyon, emphasizing that his lack of political polish would be an asset in representing the people of Makerfield effectively.
In conclusion, despite the criticism and controversy surrounding Kenyon’s past behavior, Kruger stood by his decision not to remove him as Reform’s candidate for Makerfield, highlighting Kenyon’s transition from a private individual to a political candidate and the potential he sees in him as a representative for the constituency.
