A FORMER Reform UK candidate who described Adolf Hitler as “brilliant” at inspiring people is now in charge of the party’s vetting process, reports say.
Jack Aaron’s comments, in which he also claimed Vladimir Putin’s use of force in Ukraine was “legitimate”, came to light last year when he stood for Reform UK in the Welwyn Hatfield constituency in the General Election.
Aaron defended his comments by claiming there was context and “nuances” and that he was viewing the Nazi leader as part of a pseudoscientific theory of personality types.
Despite the scandal, Aaron is now said to be head of vetting for Reform UK.
His role will include studying prospective candidates' social media outputs and advising them on what should be deleted.
The news of Aaron securing the role comes after Reform UK’s leader, Nigel Farage, told his party conference in September that it would be vetting candidates “rigorously at all levels” in the future.
More than 100 candidates for the party were sacked or removed for offensive and racist comments before last year's General Election.
A spokesperson for Reform UK told the Guardian: “Mr Aaron is Jewish, and sits on his local synagogue council. His grandfather came to this country as a refugee from Vienna and much of his family on that side were murdered by Hitler’s regime.
“Reform UK does not disclose details of our internal vetting process and nor staff members involved.”
Aaron came third in Welwyn Hatfield with just over 13% of the vote, finishing behind the defeated Tory minister, Grant Shapps (below).
According to his LinkedIn page, Aaron is a business psychologist, consultant, YouTuber, coach, relationship counsellor, and matchmaker.
His social media page adds that he set up the World Socionics Society, which promotes the idea that there are 16 personality types, and has grown from a Facebook group.
A Reform UK profile page states he “would like to reconfigure the principles of immigration, so that we continue to invite, welcome and assimilate the best of the world, but not allow our way of life to be compromised or threatened by ghettos of counter-culture”.
When contacted last year by the Times about his remarks on Hitler and other figures, he stood by his comments, adding there was context and “nuances” as he was viewing them through a psychological perspective.
In 2022 in a post on social media, Aaron said Hitler was “brilliant in using Fe+Ni [socionics personality traits] to inspire people into action”.
Then days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Aaron said those who called Putin insane “do not understand him and limit their ability to oppose him”.
He added: “The motivation to acquire and wield force is legitimate, and there is a whole group of personality types inclined to this, and they have historically shaped the world we live in.”
In a comment on Reddit, he said that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was “gentle by nature” and not “some bloodthirsty tyrant who exercises control over his people with an iron fist”, adding that the dictator had been “led astray” by social stereotyping.
