Green Party candidate Chris Kennedy withdraws from Makerfield by-election after antisemitism row

Former candidate Chris Kennedy apologised after reports he had called an attack on Jewish ambulances a ‘false flag’

The Greens have apologised for Chris Kennedy’s posts and will select a new by-election candidate on Monday The post Green Party’s Makerfield by-election candidate quits after Jewish ambulance attack posts appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.

Chris Kennedy has withdrawn as the Green party’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election. The party’s announcement describes the reason as “personal and family reasons”. However, it is notable that Kennedy was the target of a huge pile-on by the UK Israel lobby before his withdrawal for sharing a post describing the the attack on Golders […] By Skwawkbox

Chris Kennedy was announced as the Green Party's candidate in the Makerfield by-election, but dropped out just nine hours later. Reports later claimed he had shared posts about an arson attack in Golders Green

Former Green Party Candidate Chris Kennedy poses for a portrait at Low Hall Nature Reserve on May 21, 2026 in Wigan, England.The Greens’ candidate for the Makerfield by-election has quit after less than 12 hours in the role.The party said Chris Kennedy, a nurse and children’s safeguarding specialist, stood down for “personal and family reasons”.He was announced as the candidate at around 7.30am on Thursday but had stood down by approximately 4.30pm.The Greens are now looking for nominations for new candidates before the by-election on June 18.Shortly after the news broke, The Times reported Kennedy had shared social media posts describing an attack on Jewish ambulances in north London as a “false flag” operation.An Instagram video described the attack as “total bullshit to keep the false flag flying” and included an image where parts of the word “Jewish” had been blacked out.Kennedy also shared a post from Hugh Anthony, who describes himself as a “proud ethno-nationalist”, which claimed the Golders Green terror attack made “no sense”.A Green Party spokesperson told The Times that Kennedy “apologises for the offence caused” and had deleted the posts.A party representative told the BBC the posts “don’t reflect the views of The Green Party”.When announcing Kennedy’s decision to stand down, a Green spokesperson said: “We wish Chris the best and understand that family has to come first.“As a party, we are re-opening nominations now because we believe people in Makerfield deserve a real choice at this by-election, and the Green Party will be standing to offer exactly that.“Across the country, more and more voters are turning away from the old parties and looking for politicians who will genuinely stand up for their communities.“We will also be redoubling our efforts on campaigning to expose the risk of Reform, a party who seeks to divide our communities.“This election has to be about how to make 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 our green spaces.“It has to be about offering Makerfield hope over hate.”Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.Related...Labour Lost Almost 4 Times As Many Voters To Greens Than To Reform In Local Elections, Poll FindsGreen MP Shouted Down In PMQs As She Calls For Alcohol Ban In ParliamentExclusive: Former Labour Members Are Returning To The Party To Back Andy Burnham

Chris Kennedy was announced to be running for the Greens on Thursday morning, but the party confirmed he had dropped out some nine hours later, citing ‘personal and family reasons’