Reform candidate who said Holocaust was a hoax wins seat in local elections
A Merseyside Reform UK election candidate who called the Holocaust a "hoax" and "propaganda" has been elected in the local elections. Jay Leslie Cooper has taken one of three available seats for the Bootle West ward on Sefton Council. The newly elected Cllr Cooper secured 705 votes and will join two Labour councillors, Jim Conalty and Dan McKee, in representing the three-member ward. Prior to the election, the ECHO revealed that Cllr Cooper had shared vile views on his social media accounts, including evidence of Holocaust denial.
In September last year Cooper reposted an article on Facebook about the fatal shooting of American political commentator Charlie Kirk with the accompanying headline: "Heartbreaking. Murdered for having an opinion." In response to a comment which asked: "[Adolf] Hitler had an (opinion) too; did he deserve to die?", Cooper said: "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." The ECHO previously attempted to contact the newly elected councillor about these views. We were told that Reform UK was looking into the allegations.
Analysis of Cllr Cooper's social media also showed a web of conspiracy theories about the 9/11 terrorist attack and Titan submersible implosion, as well as claims about the Labour government's role in the Southport attack and associating the Green Party with mental health patients. In February this year he shared a polling map which showed Merseyside intended to vote Labour. Cllr Cooper posted: "These polls have got to be wrong about Liverpool. How are people in the (sic) right mind still thinking it's acceptable to vote for Labour? The three young girls in Southport slaughtered by the hands of Labour should have been the turning point.
Makes me ashamed to be from Liverpool." In March this year Cllr Cooper shared a post from the controversial Around Liverpool page showing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in a hijab with the accompanying words: "Labour have given up winning elections with policies. They focus on demographics instead. "They import voters because the public hate their policies. Import the third world and bribe them with taxpayer benefits. Terror comes with it and they don't care." On the same day he shared a hoax email circulated around Merseyside regarding worrying claims that someone would go into unnamed schools to attack children.
Cllr Cooper posted: "Blame the Labour government, go and take your kids from schools. Keep them off. Someone messaged to tell me it's a hoax. I am not stupid, of course it is a hoax, but it gives people ideas. The schools are no longer safe...if you are stupid, send your kids to school." In January 2024 Cllr Cooper re-shared a video called: "Ultimate proof. 9/11 is not what we thought it was." The video claims only three 9/11 videos were shown live on American media and none of them showed the planes hitting the tower. The video does not appear to factor in the footage captured by onlookers.
Another video from April of the previous year was called "Thermite truth" about temperature hotspots at the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre. The thermite conspiracy theory claims that a high-energy explosive was used to demolish the towers, alleging an inside job. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology examined and rejected the theory. And reposting a Unilad article in June 2023 about the final movements of the Titan submersible, which imploded resulting in the deaths of five people, Cllr Cooper said: "Wonder what they are trying to distract us from now," followed by two sleeping emojis.
Cllr Cooper has also publicly expressed support for the controversial policy of privatising the NHS. Reposting a Daily Mail article in June 2023 about a teenager dying after a tumour was mistaken for an ear infection, Cllr Cooper said: "All too common. The thing needs [to be] privatised." The following month he reposted a video of Tristan Tate, the brother of social media influencer Andrew, speaking about his "genius idea to fix the NHS ". Cllr Cooper added: "If people had to pay for it they wouldn't abuse it." Reform UK has previously said it will not privatise the NHS despite claims by Labour.
More recently Cllr Cooper also re-shared a video of a man alleged to have carried out a knife attack in Edinburgh posted by The Scottish S*n. The S*n is largely boycotted on Merseyside because of its disgraceful coverage of the Hillsborough disaster .