Green Party Reopens Makerfield Nominations After Candidate Withdrawal

The Green Party has reopened nominations for the Makerfield byelection less than 12 hours after announcing Chris Kennedy as its candidate. Kennedy withdrew from the ballot on Thursday, citing personal and family reasons, following reports that he had shared social media content describing an attack on Jewish ambulances in north London as a "false flag".

The Times reported that the newspaper approached Kennedy regarding posts he shared about the April incident, in which he described the arrest of two men as "total bullshit to keep the false flag flying". He also reportedly shared a post by a user identified as a "proud ethno-nationalist" regarding the response to a separate arson attack in Golders Green in March.

A Green Party spokesperson stated that the posts did not reflect the party’s views and confirmed that Kennedy had deleted the content and apologised for the offence caused. Kennedy, a nurse and children’s safeguarding specialist, had been selected by local party members, although the Times noted that portrait artist Hayley Pierce was initially considered the frontrunner before her own social media activity damaged her prospects.

The party has scheduled a selection meeting for Monday evening to choose a replacement candidate, with nominations reopening on Friday. In a statement, the Greens emphasised their commitment to campaigning against the Reform Party, which they accuse of seeking to divide communities, while focusing on issues such as housing affordability and protecting public services.

Internal concerns have reportedly emerged regarding the risk of splitting the progressive vote and allowing Reform to win. A senior party figure told the Financial Times that the Greens are wary of Labour using the candidacy to argue that voting Green effectively supports Reform, a narrative that could impact the party’s standing in the subsequent three years.