Jay Cooper (Sefton): resignation on 2026-05-13
Reason & context
Cllr Jay Cooper has publicly resigned from Reform UK following continued reporting on his pre-election Facebook comments calling the Holocaust a hoax. Resignation statement was posted to Cooper's Facebook page, in which he apologises for the comments and confirms his departure from the party. Liverpool Echo reports the resignation as confirmed (12-13 May 2026). Sefton council CMIS register has not yet been updated and still lists Cllr Cooper as Reform UK for Bootle West. This is register lag, comparable to Stuart Prior's council registers in the days after his Reform resignation.
Sources
Verified by 2 gold-tier sources and 6 primary or corroborating sources. What do these tiers mean?
- cross_check gold Sefton Council: Election results for Bootle West (7 May 2026) [modgov.sefton.gov.uk]
- cross_check gold How many councillors has Reform UK lost since the May 2026 elections? [markpack.org.uk]
- primary Reform UK face questions after Holocaust-is-a-hoax candidate elected [jewishnews.co.uk]
- primary New Bootle councillor apologises for Holocaust comments and quits Reform UK [liverpoolecho.co.uk]
- corroborating Holocaust denial and 9/11 theories: The vile views of this Reform candidate [liverpoolecho.co.uk]
- corroborating Farage: Reform councillor who said Holocaust a hoax 'not welcome' [liverpoolecho.co.uk]
- corroborating Reform candidate said Holocaust was hoax [uk.news.yahoo.com]
- corroborating New Reform councillor resigns whip after Holocaust denial comments brought to light [thejc.com]
Disclosure. Compiled by Paul G Webster, communications officer for the East Lindsey Green Party. Every tracker entry is added on the same two-source verification standard regardless of which party the councillor was elected for.