Jay Cooper won his seat on Friday after it emerged he had posted on social media calling the Holocaust a “hoax”
13:00, 11 May 2026Updated 15:52, 11 May 2026
Jay Leslie Cooper, who is standing for Reform UK as a candidate for Bootle West in Sefton Council’s “all-out” elections, has posted on his Facebook that the Holocaust was a “hoax”
A Reform UK candidate who won his Sefton Council seat on Friday after it emerged that he had posted on social media calling the Holocaust a “hoax” has gone on holiday immediately after his election. Jay Leslie Cooper won one of the three available Sefton Council seats in Bootle West last week with 705 votes, and will join Labour councillors in the ward, Jim Conalty and Dan McKee.
The Liverpool Echo revealed ahead of the election that Cllr Cooper had shared evidence of Holocaust denial on his social media, reposting an article about the fatal shooting of American conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on Facebook in September last year saying: “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.”
In a story posted on his Facebook page after the elections, sharing the ECHO story reporting his win, Cllr Cooper said: “I am taking a much needed holiday so I will be sworn in on the 18th see you all then.”
He then posted a picture from Manchester Airport on Sunday, followed by photos from Milan, Italy.
A councillor’s term in office usually begins immediately after the results are announced, and they are usually required to undergo induction training. However, the annual meeting of the council – taking place in Sefton on May 19 – is usually the time when they sign their official declaration of acceptance of office.
The ECHO contacted Cllr Cooper and Reform UK for comment but is yet to receive a response from the latter. Cllr Cooper said that he was not missing any training sessions, which he can complete when he returns from holiday. He did not comment on his social media posts.
Nigel Farage indicated last week that Cllr Cooper is “not welcome” in his party following his social media posts.
He also told the Echo on a visit to St Helens on Friday: “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.” The ECHO has asked Reform UK whether the party will take action over Cllr Cooper’s comments in light of Mr Farage’s statement, but they have yet to provide a response.
Jay Cooper said after his election he was going on holiday(Image: Screenshot from Facebook)
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.