Carol Vorderman isn’t playing about, here. After Reform announced their candidate for the Makerfield by-election earlier this month, it transpired that Rob Kenyon had posted some fairly awful sentiments about women online – including the former Countdown star.
ALSO READ: Carol Vorderman demands apology from Reform candidate over online comments
Carol Vorderman sends open letter to women of Makerfield
Reform’s campaign in the Manchester constituency has been plagued by controversy surrounding Kenyon, who has since deleted all of his previous social media accounts – one of which agreed with a user saying he wanted to ‘smell and lick’ an intimate area belonging to Vorderman.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News over the weekend, the 65-year-old highlighted that there had been a ‘pattern of online abuse’ demonstrated by Kenyon, in posts where he directly identified as a sexist and attacked women who had undergone abortions. She also branded him a ‘little coward’.
“This isn’t about one tweet, this is about Rob Kenyon’s pattern of online abuse, trying to belittle women. He closed down his account because he’s a little coward. And now he’s saying, oh, well it’s just a joke’. It isn’t a joke is it? That’s what bullies say.” | Carol Vorderman
‘We all had to battle hard to get rights for our daughters, and their daughters’
Published on Saturday, Carol Vorderman has sent an open letter to thousands of female voters in Makerfield, imploring them to consider their choice carefully. She lashed out at the ‘private school Reform leaders’, and expressed concerns that Reform would ‘roll back’ women’s rights.
“I was brought up in poverty in North Wales, and we’ve all had to battle hard to get rights for our daughters and their daughters and I don’t want our girls to lose them now, and that is what Reform has said they’ll do.”
“I was a free school meals kid who’s spent half her life in the North including working in Leigh and living in Leeds for many years. As opposed to most of the private school Reform leaders who helicopter in, I am absolutely NOT a Londoner.” | Carol Vorderman
‘Little coward’ Rob Kenyon gets both barrels from Carol Vorderman
She also slammed Kenyon for ‘dragging her into his mess’, and reiterated her calls for women in the constituency to make their voices heard.
“Why am I writing to you? Well Rob Kenyon has dragged me into his mess, and like so many of us we’ve had to fight for women to have a decent education, live well and safely, with millions of really good blokes helping us along the way.“
“I want to make you aware, if you’re not already, that [disrespect] towards women and our protections is Reform’s pattern. Now, the women of Makerfield have real power and it’s wonderful to be able to say that: you can decide if Rob Kenyon is the person you want to represent you.” | Carol Vorderman