Reform UK candidate criticised for Ant Middleton endorsement

Reform UK’s candidate in the Makerfield byelection has been criticised for welcoming an endorsement by Ant Middleton, the former soldier and TV presenter who the party had distanced itself from over his increasingly extreme views.

Robert Kenyon shared a video of himself with Middleton, who he described as “one of my heroes”. Middleton has previously said “well done Southampton” in the wake of violence after the murder of Henry Nowak, and has repeatedly used his own X account to make anti-Muslim comments.

Middleton’s statements have included saying “You can’t be a Muslim and be in charge of a Christian nation/city” and that “1st, 2nd & 3rd generation immigrants should not hold top-tier government positions”.

The former special forces soldier had previously addressed the Reform UK conference in 2024 and was mooted as a potential London mayoral candidate.

But he appeared to to be cut loose by the party, which sought to distance itself from him as he adopted positions that were increasingly to the far right. Middleton has appeared alongside the far-right activist known as Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, at rallies organised by Robinson.

However, the party’s welcome for Middleton in Makerfield may be motivated by the pressure it is coming under in the same contest from Restore Britain, the party launched by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe earlier this year.

Anna Turley MP, the Labour party chair and a Cabinet Office minister, said the endorsement showed: “Reform have no shame.”

“Their last byelection candidate was endorsed by Tommy Robinson and now Rob Kenyon is delighted to have the backing of a man who was jailed for assaulting two police officers,” she said, referring to Middleton’s criminal record.

“Ant Middleton should be nowhere near any political party – he said the mayor of London wasn’t English, he is a convicted criminal and his company failed to pay over £1m in tax that could have been spent on schools and hospitals.”

Middleton was convicted in 2013 of the unlawful wounding of a police officer and common assault on another outside a nightclub. He was banned in 2025 from being a company director, after his company failed to pay more than £1m in tax. He had parted ways with Channel 4 in 2021 after controversial comments on the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter.

Restore Britain, the hard-right party set up by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe after he and Nigel Farage fell out, is widely expected to come third in the Makerfield election.

The party’s performance could cost Reform the seat, according to a leaked poll, which was circulated internally among Labour staffers and published by the i newspaper. It put Lowe’s party on 13% of the vote, with Reform on 24% and Labour on 35%.

Middleton’s rhetoric has more closely aligned with the positions taken by Restore and he has shared the party’s messaging on X. Sharing a pledge by Restore Britain to deport millions, he said: “An English mayor of London will help flush them out to our shores for ease of deportation.”

However, he said in the video shared by Kenyon: “Let’s get together, vote strategically and put this man in power.”