John Bickley, UKIP's candidate in Thursday's Oldham West and Royton by-election, believes Labour "deliberately encouraged" mass immigration to drive down working-class wages, while climate change is a "non problem" invented to achieve "socialist objectives", according to his postings in the comments sections of news stories.
In addition to being UKIP's candidate in the party's make-or-break by-election, Bickley had a sideline as an anti-immigration and climate change sceptic in the comments section of the Guardian and other websites, where he made dozens of posts under the name "bickmeister" over a five-year period.
In one comment "bickmeister" claimed "Labour deliberately encouraged mass immigration, destroying working class jobs & wages" and in another he said that global warming sits alongside other government and media "scares", such as AIDS, which have "proved to be global damp squids" [sic].
Multiple comments espouse Bickley's belief that the case for manmade climate change put forward by scientists is flawed because his own investigations are superior.
"I've done my own research on climate change," he wrote in one comment, "rather than believe any one side's view and I've come to the conclusion that it's a non problem – we should be focused on solving real World problems like starvation, disease, lack of drinking water, sanitation and medicine instead of spending $trillions reducing a notional temperature rise by a % of a degree."
Instead he recommended observing the weather rather than relying on scientists: "The UK Met Office told us that last summer was going to be one of the hottest and this Winter one of the warmest in the last 20 years – both out by a country mile."
In another post he he attacked prominent climate change activists: "Monbiot, Hansen, Gore et al have taken the believers on the biggest hoax ride in the history on mankind [sic] – do what I have done – engage brain, do your own research, observer the real climate and reach some conclusions. Don't muddy a scientific question with politics and religious beliefs – it doesn't work."
He also said that "anthropogenic global warming" – the term for the theory that the Earth is warming due to increased carbon dioxide emissions – is a "proxy for achieving political and socialist objectives". Its main effect, he said, is to "beat back capitalism, globalisation, technology, industry and the USA".
"CO2 has a very limited effect on the climate compared to solar and other planetary forces e.g. Ocean circulation," Bickley said in a later posting.
One repeated theme in comments by "bickmeister" is the idea that climate change is a hoax maintained by governments and businesses in the green energy sector: "Climate has always changed. Thousands of people & companies rely on the climate change 'scare' continuing to be propagated."
Bickley came within a few hundred votes of defeating Labour in 2014's Heywood & Middleton by-election and is now hoping to do even better in the neighbouring seat.
But in a posting that may affect his chances of receiving positive media coverage, Bickley attacked the UK's biggest-selling newspaper in a comment encouraging The Guardian's environmental columnist George Monbiot to take his journalism "to The Sun or another equally neandrathal red top where your style and lack of ability to rationally argue your case will be appreciated”.
Bickley told BuzzFeed News he stood by the comments, especially on Labour. “They effectively engineered mass immigration during the '00s," he said. "On immigration I think there’s plenty of evidence out there about [former Labour adviser] Andrew Neather’s alleged comments – they certainly recognised the benefits of mass uncontrolled immigration in the sense that many people would end up voting Labour. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Labour party saw a voting benefit in letting lots of people come here who would become the next generation of Labour voters.”
He also said there was a "consensus that people don’t want to have challenged" about climate change. "The whole climate change debate and industry has been a useful cover for people who believe in international socialism and redistribution of wealth."
Bickley said that if more people came to towns such as Oldham they would see his views were in touch with ordinary people: “Many people cannot understand how the Labour party is being led by a cabal of Marxists with disdain for the monarchy and armed forces, who want to give back the Falkland Islands."