𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The Green Party’s candidate for the Makerfield by-election has withdrawn – just hours after it was announced he would be standing. The party originally said Chris Kennedy, a registered nurse and children’s safeguarding specialist, was standing down for “personal and family reasons”.

His candidacy was only confirmed on Thursday morning, with an announcement posted to X (formerly Twitter) at 8.20am. News that Kennedy was standing down came hours later, with an email from the party timed at 4.42pm. Since, it has been reported that Kennedy stood down after concerns were raised about posts he shared online.

According to The Times, Kennedy shared a video calling the arrests connected to the Golders Green ambulance arson incident “total bulls*** to keep the false flag flying”. A false flag operation is a harmful, often militant, event or action designed to appear as if perpetrated by someone other than the person or group responsible. He also shared posts from a “proud ethno-nationalist” who said the response to the attack made “no sense”.

A Green Party spokesperson said: “These posts don’t reflect the views of The Green Party. We have spoken to Chris about these posts, and he has now deleted them. He apologises for the offence caused.”

Before this came out, the leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, had acclaimed Kennedy as “a fantastic candidate and representative for Makerfield”.

As a result of Kennedy standing down, the party’s nominations process will reopen. A Green Party spokesperson said before Kennedy’s post were released: “As a party, we are re-opening nominations now because we believe people in Makerfield deserve a real choice at this by-election, and the Green Party will be standing to offer exactly that.

“Across the country, more and more voters are turning away from the old parties and looking for politicians who will genuinely stand up for their communities. We will also be redoubling our efforts on campaigning to expose the risk of Reform, a party who seeks to divide our communities.

“This election has to be about how to make the super-rich pay their fair share, how we tackle the cost-of-living crisis with lower bills and affordable housing, and how we protect our public services and our green spaces. It has to be about offering Makerfield hope over hate.”

The party added: “The Green Party of England and Wales is re-opening nominations this evening for the upcoming by-election in Makerfield. The move comes after the selected candidate, Chris Kennedy, withdrew from the role for personal and family reasons.”