On the same day as we celebrated the defeat of the Nazis 81 years ago, a Holocaust denier has been elected to public office. In the Sefton Council UK local elections held this week, Jay Leslie Cooper, a Reform UK candidate for Bootle West ward, secured a seat with 705 votes. This outcome is remarkable due to Cooper’s prior social media posts denying the Holocaust. The ward, which elects three councillors, saw Cooper join two Labour victors, marking Reform’s local gain amid broader scrutiny of its candidate vetting.
Pre-election reporting by the Liverpool Echo exposed Cooper’s controversial statements. In one post, he described the Holocaust as a “hoax” and “propaganda,” claiming “there were not 6 million Jews in Europe at the time.” He also promoted 9/11 conspiracy theories, labelling them part of a broader “hoax” narrative. The Echo detailed these views in an April 24 article titled “The vile views of this Bootle West Reform UK candidate,” noting Cooper’s online history as well as his candidacy announcement.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who himself has been accused of vile antisemitic statements made during adolescence, responded swiftly post-election saying that Cooper was “not welcome” in the party and adding, “with thousands of candidates some problems can slip through vetting.” Reform announced an investigation into the allegations, while Farage acknowledged the optics were poor in a YouTube clip: “Nigel Farage says new Merseyside councillor who said Holocaust was a hoax…”.
The episode highlights the issue of extremism in British politics. Labour figures condemned the events, including MP Steve Reed who tweeted: “A holocaust denier is now an elected councillor. Reform must act.” This case also highlights tensions in UK local elections, where voter priorities like cost-of-living can overshadow candidate scrutiny. Reform’s strong showing during the local elections raises worrying questions about Nazi ideologies in populist movements.
As of today, Cooper remains a councillor pending party action.
Sources
Reform candidate who said Holocaust was a hoax wins seat in local elections – Liverpool Echo
(20+) Reform WIN more than 80% of available seats – Liverpool Echo News | Facebook
4 Responses to UK Local Elections: Holocaust Denier as Reform Councillor
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Not surprising given they were awarded the rusty razor last year and had aseem malhotra speaking at their conference. Back in my day we used to call disinformation plain old lying, is there a journalist left that wil call it what it is.
Farage has also been given 5 million and very little push back, at least as far as i can tell, from the mainstream media. Desmog regulary has articles showing the significant involvement of climate change denying oil companies into the party. farage also has a deep love of trump and so i can only conclude is part of the epstein class and millionaire / billionaire death cult.
He has somehow sold himself as a man of the people despite driving the brexit campaign that has harmed nearly everyone and the country to the tune of billions every year. Beggars belief that this divisive and deranged individual is still around in the spotlight but probably sometjing to do with the largely rightwing phone hacking media in this country. I fear like america we may probably be buggered unless more people come to their senses. I am not hopeful. These are only some of this mans odeous dealings.
Rant over.
that is why those of us who have not yet lost their senses must do all they can to prevent the worst!
and thank humanism you do. I’m sure there are plenty of people who are more than grateful that the likes of your good self, science based medicine, independent media outlets and others are pushing back and shining a light on this madness. Its actually very reassuring and hope inducing.
very kind, thank you