Jack Aaron ran as the Reform candidate for the constituency of Welwyn Hatfield in the recent general election, but was beaten by Labour’s Andrew Alan.
Aaron is the founder of the World Socionics Society, an organisation that follows the pseudoscientific belief that there are only sixteen personality types that all humans can be categorised into.
It was in relation to this theory that he made his supportive comment about Hitler, claiming that he was of the personality type that was “brilliant” at inspiring people. He also said that Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator, was “gentle by nature.”
As the Head of Vetting, one of Aaron's main responsibilities is checking each Reform MP's social media, and advising on what should be deleted or edited.
The move to instate a Head of Vetting comes after Reform UK's leader, Nigel Farage's promise to “rigorously” vet all future candidates in response to the vast controversy the party faced in the lead up to the general election, as a result of numerous questionable comments and behaviours from candidates.
In spite of his comments regarding Hitler and Assad, and stating that Putin's use of force in Ukraine was “legitimate,” Aaron now faces the responsibility of vetting all future and current candidates.
It is uncertain how he will rise to his new role, but Reform has said that Socionics will not form a part of the vetting process.