Kemi Badenoch, a senior Conservative Party figure, has defended the selection of Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi and convicted offender, as a candidate for the upcoming Somerset council elections. Bonehill-Paine is set to stand for the Crewkerne South ward in next year’s local government contest.
Bonehill-Paine, 34, has a criminal record that includes convictions for racially aggravated harassment, malicious communications, and posting antisemitic material online. In 2015, he was jailed for more than three years after promoting a neo-Nazi rally that referenced Auschwitz and used language widely regarded as hateful and offensive. He was also sentenced in 2016 to two years for harassing Luciana Berger, the former Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, who is Jewish and has publicly condemned his selection. Bonehill-Paine’s online posts about Berger included deeply offensive and misogynistic language. Berger said the experience of giving evidence against him in court, while six months pregnant, was traumatic and called Badenoch’s decision “very, very wrong.”
Despite these convictions, Badenoch has maintained that Bonehill-Paine deserves a second chance, highlighting his reported rehabilitation efforts. She stated that he has been certified by the Home Office to train police officers in combating antisemitism and extremism and emphasized that he now works actively to address the issues linked to his past actions. Badenoch dismissed concerns that his selection amounted to recruiting extremists, saying: “The Conservative Party believes in second chances for good people.” Bonehill-Paine has spoken publicly about his transformation during his time in prison, including his exposure to the Bible and working with anti-extremism charities such as Exit Hate.
The selection has triggered criticism from Jewish organizations and political figures. Karen Newman, vice-president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, described the choice as “beggars belief” and called on the Conservative Party to reverse the decision and review its candidate vetting procedures. The Jewish Labour Movement also condemned the move, citing Bonehill-Paine’s history of antisemitic abuse.
In contrast, Bonehill-Paine, who has been active in local Conservative circles and is a creator of political satire content known as the Crewkerne Gazette, has defended his candidacy and refuted suggestions he remains extremist. He challenged criticisms from other political parties, including Reform UK, whose leader Nigel Farage publicly criticized Badenoch’s support for Bonehill-Paine. Reform UK stated that Bonehill-Paine was not selected as one of their candidates and criticized the Conservative Party for what it described as hypocrisy, given its claims to fight antisemitism.
The controversy comes amid broader discussions within the Conservative Party about candidate selection and ideological direction under Badenoch’s leadership, with some commentators noting tensions between different factions over policy and membership inclusivity. Bonehill-Paine’s candidacy and the responses it has provoked reflect ongoing challenges around rehabilitation, accountability, and political representation.