James Booth - Green Candidate, Makerfield James Booth — Green Party Candidate, Makerfield By-Election 2026 Last updated: 25 May 2026 By-election date: Thursday 18 June 2026 Bio Detail Info Full name James Booth Occupation NHS nurse (20+ years) Party Green Party of England and Wales Constituency Makerfield How They Got Selected Selected as emergency replacement candidate after original candidate Chris Kennedy withdrew within hours of being selected on 21 May 2026. Kennedy withdrew after antisemitic social media posts resurfaced — he had shared a post calling an attack on Jewish ambulances a "false flag". The BBC reported the Green Party had selected a nurse as the replacement candidate. Key Context The Green Party considered not standing at all in Makerfield to avoid splitting the anti-Reform vote Some voices within the party suggested backing Labour's Andy Burnham instead (per FT) The decision to stand was made; James Booth was selected as candidate Polling Date Pollster Green % Notes 23 May Survation / Sunday Times 3% Minor factor in the race Twitter/X Discussion Source: Nitter search, May 2026 Booth himself isn't discussed much — but the Chris Kennedy saga dominates Green-related Twitter discourse: Chris Kennedy's 9-hour candidacy : "Less than twelve hours after being announced as the Green candidate in the Makerfield by-election, Chris Kennedy withdrew. The Party said it was for family reasons. It soon transpired that he had posted a conspiracy theory that the ambulance arson in Golders Green had been a 'false flag' operation." — widely shared Accusations of antisemitism : "Green Party candidate for Makerfield, Chris Kennedy, pulls out of race after sharing posts describing the ATTACK on Jewish ambulances as a 'false flag'. These remarks are unacceptable! Antisemitism is a common theme with the Gangreens isn't it?" — used by right-wing accounts to attack the Greens Conspiracy theory defences : "Green Party punished Chris Kennedy, the ex-candidate for Makerfield by-election. Why? As a registered nurse and a children's safeguarding specialist, he was the perfect candidate. But he criticised Israel. The rest is history." — pro-Palestine accounts defended Kennedy "Shortest political career" : The joke "Green party candidate for Makerfield by-election withdraws after nine hours — shortest political career ever?" was widely circulated Booth as replacement : Coverage of Booth as the replacement is minimal — most tweets focus on the Kennedy fiasco rather than the actual candidate Senior Greens urged Burnham support : "Senior Greens 'tell party to make way for Andy Burnham'" was shared by both Greens arguing for tactical voting and by critics mocking the party's indecision Reddit Discussion On r/ukpolitics, the Kennedy withdrawal was a major story for a day — described as an "incredible own goal" by the Greens. Some users argued it showed the Greens are "not serious" as a political force. The debate about whether the Greens should stand aside for Labour is regularly revisited. BBC — Green Party selects nurse as candidate Green Party — Chris Kennedy selection (withdrawn) FT — Greens consider helping Labour in Makerfield New Statesman — Should the Green Party stand in Makerfield?