Green candidate drops out of by-election over Golders Green conspiracy | Politics | News
The Green Party’s candidate for the Makerfield by-election has withdrawn just hours after announcing he would be a candidate. The party initially said Chris Kennedy, a registered nurse and child protection specialist, was withdrawing for “personal and family reasons”.
His candidacy was only confirmed in an announcement sent to X (formerly Twitter) at 8.20am on Thursday morning. The news of Kennedy’s withdrawal came hours later in an e-mail from the party at 16.42. It has since been reported that Kennedy withdrew after concerns grew about his online posts.
According to The Times, Kennedy shared a video calling the arrests in connection with the Golders Green ambulance arson a “total nonsense*** to keep the false flag flying.” A false flag operation is a harmful, often militant, event or action designed to appear as if it is being committed 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 was “meaningless”.
A Green Party spokesman said: “These posts do not reflect the views of the Green Party. We spoke to Chris about these posts and he has deleted them. He apologizes for the offense he has caused.”
Before this was revealed, Green Party leader Zack Polanski had applauded Kennedy as “a great candidate and representative for Makerfield.”
As a result of Kennedy’s withdrawal, the party’s nomination process will restart. A Green Party spokesperson said before Kennedy’s post was published: “As a party, we are now reopening nominations because we believe people in Makerfield deserve a real choice in this by-election and the Green Party will be ready to deliver exactly that.”
“More and more voters across the country are turning away from old parties and looking for politicians who will truly stand up for their communities. “We will also redouble our campaigning efforts to expose the risk of Reform, a party that seeks to divide our communities.
“This election should be about how 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 green spaces. It should be about offering Makerfield hope instead of hate.”
The party added: “The Green Party of England and Wales is reopening its candidacies this evening for the Makerfield by-election. The move comes after chosen candidate Chris Kennedy withdrew from office for personal and family reasons.”
