Drawing the line on Holocaust denial

Following the random stabbing of Jewish men in Golders Green yesterday and the statement from the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism that attacks on Jewish people are the “biggest national security emergency since 2017”, the call for the Reform Party locally to ditch any candidate expressing extreme anti-semitic views has been repeated. 

This time by Mike Braham who chairs Sefton's annual Holocaust Memorial Service held in Christ Church,Southport and who is himself a candidate in the local elections for the Liberal Democrats.

Jay Cooper(Reform) who describes the Holocaust as a hoax on his social media is still on the the ballot paper for the May elections in Sefton as a Reform candidate and has not been formally disowned by Reform who are simply ‘looking into the allegations.’

The Sefton Holocaust Memorial Service is attended by all local MPs and councillors and representatives of all faiths including the local Imman to Southport’s tiny Moslem Community. The annual event recalls the Nazi genocide of Jews and the attempts to exterminate other groups singled out by Nazi ideology.

Michael Braham alerted councillors early this year to Nazi graffiti around the Marine Lake in Southport. As a local historian he has written about the role played by people in Southport and Sefton in sheltering Jewish children during World War 2.

"History shows”, says Mike, “ that terrible events often have small beginnings and it cannot be acceptable for such a candidate to be endorsed by a national party.”

 Local Lib Dem leader, Cllr John Pugh added, “ The brutal tendency to generate indiscriminate, generalised hatred towards any group of fellow human beings is always depressing, but a line has to be drawn by responsible adults where this is done in complete disregard to the facts. Belsen, Auschwitz and Buchenwald were not a hoax."