Greene: Reform must come clean about anti-vaccine ideology

Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Inverclyde, Jamie Greene, has today said that Reform UK must “come clean” on their party’s long record of advancing false and dangerous medical claims.

Among these are discredited anti-vaccine notions and conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 pandemic.

These ideas have been given new life by Donald Trump, whom Reform’s leaders openly admire.

When Trump falsely claimed last year that there was a link between autism and paracetamol use during pregnancy, Nigel Farage refused to admit Trump was wrong, saying instead that “science is never settled” and that “when it comes to science, I don’t side with anybody”.

Among the Scottish Reform candidates sharing these ideas are Kenneth Morton (Perthshire North), who has liked numerous posts espousing fringe conspiracy theories – including anti-vaccine ones from influencers like David Icke (The Ferret).

Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Inverclyde, Jamie Greene, said:

“Reform have lost a number of candidates since they launched their Scottish campaign, but they’ve kept on others who have repeatedly shared dangerous and deluded medical misinformation and conspiracies.

“We are seeing in the US and even in the UK that anti-vaccine conspiracy theories have driven up measles infection rates, reversing one of the great achievements of modern medicine.

“Scotland’s children deserve better than to be put at risk by irresponsible anti-science scaremongering. Reform owe it to them to cut loose any candidates who peddle these ideas.

“Voting Scottish Liberal Democrat on that second, peach, regional ballot paper is the only way to stop Reform and deliver change with fairness at its heart- that is what Scotland deserves.”