Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch defends the selection of Joshua Bonehill-Paine as the party’s candidate for the Crewkerne South ward on Somerset Council in next May’s election, despite criticism from Jewish groups. Bonehill-Paine is a former neo-Nazi who has been convicted of antisemitic and racially motivated offences. Reports say he was jailed for more than three years after posting antisemitic material online and is also described as having been convicted in connection with malicious communications in 2014, which involved an anti-Islam hoax that led to death threats. Another conviction cited by multiple outlets includes racially aggravated harassment of Labour MP Luciana Berger.
Badenoch says the party is not offering him a “national platform” because he would stand for a local council role rather than Parliament. She argues that he has shown “contrition” and has since been involved in work connected to countering extremism, including training through Home Office programmes, and that the Conservatives apply different thresholds for council versus MP candidates. Opponents, including Jewish representatives and Labour and Reform UK commentators, say his past convictions mean the selection should be reversed. Berger has described the decision as upsetting and has called for a change.
