Musk endorsement and Kenyon posts deepen Reform-Restore feud in Makerfield race

Elon Musk appeared to endorse Restore in the Makerfield byelection by reposting a message from Lowe on X and adding: “Restore Britain.” Lowe’s complaint about “dishonest polling” was then viewed more than 32 million times.

A day later, Musk shared another post in which Lowe criticised Nigel Farage, adding the caption: “Only Restore Britain can save Britain.” In response to another apparent Musk endorsement, Lowe attacked Reform’s justice spokesperson, Robert Jenrick, writing: “Restore Britain will deport the thousands and thousands of third world rapists, sex pests and scumbags that Reform’s Robert Jenrick imported as immigration minister.”

Farage said Andy Burnham would be delighted by Musk’s intervention. “Elon Musk has decided he will try to split the right of British politics as best he can. This is supporting a party that’s one man with a social media account.”

Reform MP Danny Kruger then struggled to defend deleted social media posts by Kenyon in which he endorsed lewd misogynistic comments about broadcaster Carol Vorderman. Kruger told the BBC the comments were “inappropriate” but argued they were “private conversations” because Kenyon was not a public figure at the time. Vorderman demanded an apology.

Later, Matt Goodwin, Reform’s unsuccessful candidate in the recent Gorton and Denton byelection, criticised Restore’s candidate in Makerfield. He reposted an interview with Shepherd and asked: “Is this what saving Britain looks like? No.” Lowe responded by referencing Kenyon’s comments about Vorderman and writing: “A healthy mind, that is not.”

Jenrick then leaked messages he said had been sent to him in February by Orla Minihane, Restore’s spokesperson for the safety of women and girls. The messages appeared to show she had asked for his help in becoming an MP and had praised one of his speeches. In a video, Minihane accused Jenrick of playing “dirty politics”. Isabel Oakeshott, the journalist and fiancee of Reform deputy leader Richard Tice, then mocked Minihane online. Minihane responded by calling Oakeshott “pathetic”.

On Tuesday morning, Tice said a column describing Lowe as “sick making” was “superb”. The Times then reported social media posts attributed to Kenyon that suggested he did not support Brexit. In one post from March 2019, he wrote: “So anyone who thinks I love Trump, voted Brexit, read the Daily Mail, live in the 1950s, a Tory and 103 is wrong. I’m none of the above.” Another post said he supported the free movement of people as long as it involved Europeans. Reform insisted Kenyon did vote for Brexit.

At 8.12am, Reform MP Sarah Pochin appeared to reveal how much Restore had affected senior figures in the party when she described the Makerfield byelection on Talk as a two-horse race between Labour and Restore before correcting herself. “I’ll be sacked for saying that! Reform and Labour,” she said.

Just after 11am, an internal Reform dispute also emerged. The party’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, publicly rebuked Jenrick after a Sky News interview in which he equivocated on whether Reform would deport foreign nationals living in social housing. Yusuf wrote: “Robert’s answer is not Reform policy. As the person responsible for our deportation plan, I want ensure people know where we stand: if a foreign national lives in social housing at taxpayer expense, they automatically fail our economic test and will be deported.”

By the afternoon, the Reform-Restore conflict resumed. Kenyon accused Lowe of lying about his position on immigration, posting: “Someone born with a silver spoon in their mouth is trying to lie about the only working-class local man in the race.”

On Wednesday, the Telegraph reported social media posts attributed to Kenyon saying Russia was “within their rights” to invade Crimea in 2014. In an online forum, he also appeared to compare Russia’s invasion with Britain’s intervention in the Falklands. Other posts criticised Brexit supporters for spouting “nationalist pish” and warned that leaving the EU would damage the economy. On the same forum, he appeared to suggest Hillary Clinton was responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing because of her support for the attack on Libya. “Had she stayed out of Libya, the MEN arena bombing wouldn’t have happened,” the post said.

Reform continued to back Kenyon as Farage complained to the Charity Commission about Hope Not Hate, which had first revealed offensive comments on Kenyon’s deleted X account, including the remarks about Vorderman. Hope Not Hate said Reform was trying to avoid scrutiny over the posts.

On Thursday, Lowe and Farage continued attacking each other on social media. Farage endorsed a ban on cousin marriage in Sweden, calling the practice “inherently un-British”. He stopped short of supporting a similar ban in the UK but called for a serious debate. Lowe said he would go further, replying: “This is all so pathetic – commit to banning it. That’s exactly what Restore Britain will do. Show some balls for a change.”