A Reform UK candidate who allegedly described the Holocaust as a hoax has secured a seat in the local elections. Jay Cooper, who won one of three seats on Sefton Council for the Bootle West ward, has been accused of promoting conspiracy theories and labeling the genocide of millions of Jewish people as 'propaganda.'
Controversial Social Media Posts
The newly elected councillor from Merseyside Reform has faced scrutiny following his victory with 705 votes. In a since-deleted Facebook post from September, Cooper commented on the death of US right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, captioning it 'Heartbreaking. Murdered for having an opinion.' When another user referenced Adolf Hitler and asked if he deserved to die, Cooper responded: 'I don’t agree with him murdering innocent people. But the Hallocaust [sic] is a hoax. There wasn’t [sic] even 6 million Jews in Europe at the time. Propaganda.'
Cooper has also made other conspiracy theory-laden comments online, including linking the Labour government to the Southport attacks. A February post, still visible, stated: 'These polls have got to be wrong about Liverpool... The 3 young girls in Southport slaughtered by the hands of Labour should have been the turning point.' In March, he shared an AI image of Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a hijab with text accusing Labour of importing votes and bringing terror. In January 2024, he shared a video suggesting the 9/11 attacks were not real.
Farage Responds
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage hinted that Cooper would not be welcome in the party. Farage told the Liverpool Echo: 'When you are putting up 5,000 people, do some slip through the net because they don’t tell you their social media handles or tell you the truth? Yes. Do we welcome people with these ideas? No, we absolutely don’t.' When informed that Cooper had been elected, Farage said he 'could not speak to that' but added, 'But I tell you what, he’s not welcome.'
Metro has approached Cooper and Reform UK for comment.
