A former far-right activist who has spent time in prison for anti-semitic abuse has been selected as the Tory candidate for a local council election.
Joshua Bonehill-Paine will stand as the Conservative Party candidate for election to Somerset council next year in a new Crewkerne South district.
Bonehill-Paine is the creator behind the Crewkerne Gazette, a satirical online account that shares AI sketches about British politics, and an executive member of the Tories’ Yeovil branch, working as an events organiser.
The Guardian reports that Bonehill-Paine has previously described himself as a “nationalist, fascist, theorist and supporter of white rights,” but has since worked to “combat antisemitism and extremism.”
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He also has a number of convictions against his name, including assaulting a police officer and burglary of a police station.
In 2013, he pleaded guilty to a charge of malicious communication after spreading a rumour that a pub in Leicester had refused to serve members of the armed forces to avoid upsetting the city’s ethnic minorities.
Bonhill-Paine’s anti-semitic crimes
In 2015, the 33-year-old was jailed for more than three years after inciting racial hatred for posting an antisemitic material online ahead of a neo-Nazi demonstration in Golders Green in London.
The following year, he was found guilty of racially aggravated harassment of then Labour MP Luciana Berger, who is Jewish.
Bonehill-Paine had posted messages on his blog labelling Berger a “rodent” and an “evil money-grabber”.
Somerset Live reported earlier this year that he has described himself as the founder and leader of far-right group the National British Resistance.
Bonehill-Paine has apologised for his actions, telling Somerset Live they were “disgusting” and that he is “deeply sorry” for his comments about Berger.
Speaking to the Guardian this week, Bonehill-Paine said the Conservative Party’s Yeovil branch is “fully aware of my past.”
“Our chairman has been a vocal advocate and has supported me since I became a member of the party. I am very grateful for the support,” he said.
In a statement on X responding to the Guardian’s report about him, Bonehill-Paine said he had “worked to combat antisemitism and extremism” for the past eight years.
He wrote: “I hold Home Office certification for my counter-extremism work, which has taken me across the country delivering training to police officers, probation services, schools, universities and many other organisations.
“I have never done this work for attention or accolades. I do it because I care deeply about my country and want to help reduce all forms of extremism.”
Tory leader defends selection but criticism from others
Speaking on Tuesday, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Bonehill-Paine had “shown contrition for his crimes.”
Badenoch said: “He is spending every day working to solve the very problem which he knew he had caused previously.
“He’s going up and down the country training people and the Conservative Party believes in second chances.
“This is not just someone that we’ve picked up who is a convicted criminal – this is somebody who is actively working to help communities, especially Jewish communities.”
However, Karen Newman, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said Bonehill-Paine’s selection “beggars belief.”
She said: “We have contacted the Conservative Party to set out our concerns and call on them to rescind his selection and review their vetting processes.”
Liberal Democrat MP Adam Dance, whose Yeovil constituency includes Crewkerne, said: “Residents deserve to feel confident in those seeking to represent them.
“Public service is built on trust and elected representatives have a responsibility to bring communities together and uphold the highest standards in public life.
“It is now for the Conservative Party to explain why it believes this candidate is fit to serve.”
Meanwhile, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “Kemi Badenoch is selecting a former neo-Nazi who was convicted for harassing a Jewish MP while boasting about kicking out moderate Tories who back net zero.
“It’s a total disgrace. This tells you everything you need to know about the modern Conservative Party.
“Under Kemi Badenoch they’re becoming more extreme and more out of touch with Britain.”