The Makerfield by-election, the biggest local election in modern British political history, will take place in under two weeks. It’s a toss-up between Reform’s Robert Kenyon or Labour’s Andy Burnham, the current Mayor of Manchester. Josh Simons, the former Labour MP for Makerfield, stepped down from his seat a month ago, claiming Labour were ‘imploding’, and was hoping that it would open the Parliamentary door for Burnham. If this plan succeeds and he goes on to win, Burnham would be able to join a potential leadership contest against Wes Streeting (former Health Secretary) and Keir Starmer to become the next Prime Minister. However, there is an obstacle in-front of their ‘cunning plan’. Reform’s candidate Robert Kenyon is hoping to undermine this strategy by making a surprise challenge for the seat.
The most recent opinion poll for the by-election has Labour ahead on 49% with Reform on 39%. Rupert Lowe’s Restore has thrown a spanner in the works by pinching votes from Reform, which now makes Burnham the favourite to become the next MP for Makerfield. This would, arguably, be better for the constituency. Allowing a politically inexperienced figure to represent the constituency is a risky move from Farage.
Robert Kenyon was born and raised in Makerfield, with deep family roots in the area. He is a self-employed plumber and gas engineer, a trump used by Reform to showcase his working-class credentials. This worked for the Greens after all, as Hannah Spencer was a plumber. Kenyon is a former British Army reservist and previously worked as a specialist technician in the NHS. His only experience in politics is when he stood for a seat in the 2024 General Election, where he came second to Labour. He has a relatively short-term political career, and brands himself an ordinary working man rather than a politician. It is clear Farage has not chosen him for his political abilities, as he does not have any. This just seems to be another populist choice to help Reform climb the greasy pole.
Kenyon’s performance on Question Time proved the point. His inability to answer complex questions indicated that he had not done his own research. He blanked most of the questions. He did make some sensible and justifiable points regarding local issues, but his lack of awareness at the national level was quite embarrassing. He was out of his depth, and his debating skills were tame. His delivery and wording were poor. The rest of the panel were not particularly strong either, gifting him the chance to capitalise; he failed. His main goal was to come across as trustworthy and articulate; instead, he looked media raw, fresh and untrained.
This is not the first time Farage has made an ill-informed decision regarding candidates. In the East Riding of Yorkshire Mayoral Election, he chose former boxer Luke Campbell. Campbell had no formal political experience prior to entering the political scene. Farage exploited him as he knew people would vote for a local hero, and they did. He won the election with 35.82% of the vote.
As a local resident from Hull, I went to the Reform rally where Campbell was unveiled as the candidate. Like many, I thought his locality and famous reputation would be a benefit to the region. However, this has actually been his downfall. He has little political experience and struggled to string two sentences together. Watching his debate with the other candidates on the local news, he came out as the worst. He looked uncomfortable and inexperienced; clueless in fact.
Since becoming Mayor, he disappeared behind the scenes, and it felt like little was being done in the area. Despite plans to secure a regional investment of £11.7 million and working on lobbying the government, he has not yet delivered enough tangible changes in the area, and I have seen more negative comments about him than positive. Farage chose him based on his popularity, rather than skill. Thus, the East Riding of Yorkshire is bearing the cost of Farage’s experiments.
This is quite possibly the fate in store for Makerfield, if Robert Kenyon wins the election. Kenyon’s poor performance on Question Time and his lack of political knowledge is not what Makerfield needs. They need an experienced politician, and if that means Burnham winning then so be it. Kenyon should not be added to Farage’s parliamentary puppet show, where he will inevitably prove more Judy than Punch.
Jack Watson is a 17 year-old student in Year 12 at Wyke College, Hull. You can read his Substack about following Hull City FC here. Follow him on X here.
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