If you are Reform are you ok with this repulsive man potentially becoming an MP and representing women in parliament?

[Johnogroats]

Robert Kenyon, the “cheeky local chappie” who is standing for Reform in Makerfield is on record as making some shockingly sexist comments and statements. Reform are standing by him.

Can I ask the women on here who are Reform voters if they are ok with the him remaining a candidate given what I cite below. Btw I am absolutely not, but I’m not and never will be a Reform voter for a variety of reasons.

1. Retweeting a post about performing a (graphic description) of a sexual act on Carol Voderman.
2. He has attacked women as being promiscuous and accused them of taking any decision to have an abortion lightly. He wrote, “reproductive rights, women's rights, they can dress it up all they want.
3. They're deciding to kill a baby inside the womb. What they mean is they want to shag anyone they want. And if they get caught, they get a second chance and treat it as a secondary, last form of contraception.”

Either you think this is ok (don’t understand how anyone let alone a woman could be ok with it) or presumably you’ll be contacting Tice and Farage etc to drop him.

Interested in your thoughts.

I don't think that people think Burnham is worse than the Reform MP but that Burnham has the potential to do more harm to the country as there is the risk of him being elected PM if he becomes an MP, whereas the Reform MP will probably serve a couple of years, not do much and then hopefully be kicked out of office.

That’s complete and utter nonsense

The last sentence is true. He will absolutely nothing - and might not even last his term.

It's one sentence! Assume you mean the bit about Kenyon is true?

I can totally agree with this.

I wonder if 'mosque' and 'prayer room' are interchangeable in everyday language, even if there are technical and legal distinctions between the two.

I've just found a Facebook discussion from 2024 between an Independent councillor for the area and a local Muslim representative - both refer to the building as a mosque in their posts and the Muslim representative offers to visit the councillor with his colleague to discuss the use of the building.

The Muslim representative says;
'this was a much required space for a mosque but also for a community space such as Food Bank and social activities/celebrations...'

How about linking to the entire conversation? Rather than just a snippet which doesn't actually state the church is now a mosque?

Nevertheless, I notice that Jan Moir's article was later cleared by the Press Complaints Commission.

[Kenyon] also said that women who have abortions are slags and pretend to have been raped.

Do you have quotes for these comments please?

As far as I can see, the Observer has misreported that Kenyon said women pretend to have been raped. Also, did he actually use the word 'slag' or is that paraphrasing?

Reproductive rights? Women’s rights? They can dress it up all they want, they are deciding to kill a baby inside the womb…What they mean is they want to shag anyone they want and if they get caught they get a second chance and treat it [sic] as a secondary last chance form of contraception. They ain’t kidding anyone.
He went on:
I’d hazard a guess that the majority [of abortions] are for vanity purposes like unwanted pregnancies.

I don't link to social media but here is the conversion:

Maureen O’Bern Independent Councillor for Ince and Scholes
22 June 2024
I asked the council about St Mary's Church, Warrington Rd, Ince being converted into a mosque. This is the reply I got. My view is that it is insensitive to peoples cultural feelings and religious beliefs to convert a Christian Church into a mosque. I would feel the same if a mosque was to be converted to a church. The building should have been put to better use, maybe converted to housing for local people as St Williams has.

Esmail Lakdawala
Hi Maureen O’Bern Independent Parliamentary Candidate for Wigan, this was a much required space for a mosque but also for a community space such as Food Bank and social activities/celebrations where people of all faith and no faith can do come together and bridge this toxic divide once the place is fully renovated. It was bought at full market price by people who have lived and worked in the borough for 30 to 40 years with not a single penny from government grants. The same people who serve you in Wigan Whritington hospitals and work in other sectors in Wigan. As one of the members, I am happy to talk to you and get your inputs how we can develop in a beacon of community spirit in Ince.

Maureen O’Bern Independent Councillor for Ince and Scholes
Esmail Lakdawala Thanks for your comments, I appreciate everyone has the right to freedom of religion and a place to worship. However you must appreciate that people who have prayed and worshipped at St Mary's are obviously upset at the idea of it being converted into a mosque. As I reiterate, I would feel the same if a mosque was being converted to a Christian Church. I personally feel it is culturally and religiously insensitive and I think a secular building would have been a far more appropriate choice, and wouldn't have caused the same upset. I am happy to meet and discuss. As a Councillor my role is to address all concerns raised by residents.

Esmail Lakdawala
Maureen O’Bern Independent Parliamentary Candidate for Wigan cheers, we will definitely come to your surgery with my colleague to discuss and seek your thoughts. You are also most welcome to visit us. I can assure you it will be a collaborative effort to address any concerns.

Maureen O’Bern Independent Councillor for Ince and Scholes
Esmail Lakdawala Thank you

doesn't actually state the church is now a mosque

That wasn't my point - I was talking about interchangeable language for everyday use rather than being technically correct.

You can bleat all you like but everyone else seems to be able to spot implications. He was banned from a Rugby forum and has had at least two SM accounts disabled.

That doesn't say anything about pretending to be raped or contain the word 'slag'.

It's important to be accurate though? The Observer's sub heading to their article says;

Robert Kenyon, who is standing against Andy Burnham, suggested on social media that women falsely claim rape to terminate pregnancies...

Where is the quote for this claim?

The rape is from a different post.

I am sure you can do inference, Clav.

I was just c and p ing what he actually said so that you could see it.

He has had so much stuff pulled and disabled that it is impossible to track back everything. How convenient.

Almost every women's charity, pregnancy advisory service, rape and DV and abortion charity and women's medical service has spoken out about his views. It's a shame you want to engage in whataboutery and semantics.

Reform's vetting failed. It really is that simple.

Really?

You are scraping the barrel here with your defence of Reforms candidate.

If you’re asking Deform voters to think rationally you are wasting your time. They are not capable of it.

I'm not a Reform voter at present, and as far as I can see there's nobody worth voting for. I find Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham also make offensive remarks, and don't know or care about what a woman is or is not.

The rape is from a different post.
I am sure you can do inference, Clav.

Yes, I can and so can the many other publications who have not made the same inference as the Observer - the Observer looks to be an outlier on this point. The quote you are thinking of does not mean that Kenyon suggested women were falsely claim rape - he is quite clearly saying don't dole out extreme/outlier examples to make your point. Here;

“Don’t dole out the ‘what if someone is raped by their brother’ arguement [sic].

I thought you taught English/Film Studies or whatever - are you really saying you agree with the Observer? Hopefully, you are just being political.

I am surprised that Clav seems to have become Reform's defender-in-chief.

Oh, whatever yourself Clav.

I never made the comments about rape. I focused on abortion.

What he said is reprehensible , however you splice it.

Again, none of that indicates the church was turned into a mosque. "Interchangeable language" is a feeble attempt to let Kenyon off his hook of lies and xenophobia.

If you won't link to your source, I won't take any notice of it. Where it is from, context etc. is very important

I expect you will have to go out soon...

It's worth looking up that councillor too . She has quite a long history of campaigning about various things. A lot of it centred on her own devout Christianity.

It's from her Facebook, I believe.

Worth also adding it can't be a mosque as it has a MULTI FAITH prayer room.

This councillor is also a woman responsible for disinformation about Southport , who encouraged people on SM to write letter to poor Tommy Robinson in prison.

She campaigned to keep St Mary's as a church after several failed attempts had been made to sell it. This new facility rescued the building for the community after it had stood empty for FIVE YEARS.

Easy enough to fact check.