The Green party's candidate for the Makerfield byelection, Chris Kennedy, has withdrawn from the ballot less than 12 hours after being announced. Kennedy, a nurse and children's safeguarding specialist, was selected to run in the seat on Thursday morning, but by evening the party confirmed his departure, citing personal and family reasons.
Controversial Social Media Posts
The Times reported that it had approached Kennedy about a series of social media posts he had shared concerning an attack on Jewish ambulances in north London in April. An Instagram video shared by Kennedy described the arrests of two men over the incident as "total bullshit to keep the false flag flying." He also reportedly shared a post by a user named Hugh Anthony, a self-described "proud ethno-nationalist," which said the response to the Golders Green arson attack in March made "no sense."
Party Response
A Green party spokesperson stated: "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." Later on Thursday, the party reiterated that Kennedy had withdrawn for family reasons. "We wish Chris the best and understand that family has to come first," the Greens said.
Reopening Nominations
The Green party announced it would reopen nominations on Friday, with a selection meeting planned for Monday evening. A party statement emphasised: "As a party, we are reopening nominations now because we believe people in Makerfield deserve a real choice at this byelection, and the Green party will be standing to offer exactly that." The statement also highlighted the party's commitment to campaigning against Reform UK, which it described as a party that "seeks to divide our communities."
Internal Concerns
Some party members are reportedly wary of being blamed for splitting the progressive vote and allowing Reform to win in Makerfield. One senior party figure told the Financial Times: "We do not want this one to go to Reform, and to be quite frank, we do not want Labour to turn around and say, 'If you vote Green, you're actually voting Reform', because that will be used for the next three years." This follows a Guardian report revealing the Greens were engaged in a "very civilised" internal debate about how to challenge Burnham.
