A FORMER neo-Nazi who was selected to stand for the Conservative Party has withdrawn his candidacy despite winning support from party leader Kemi Badenoch.
Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who was previously jailed for antisemitic abuse of a Labour politician but has worked in anti-extremism campaigning since being released, had been selected as the Conservative candidate for Crewkerne South in the 2027 Somerset Council elections.
The selection caused widespread controversy, with the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) saying he should not have been chosen to stand for a major political party.
However, Badenoch stood by the decision, saying: “I’m not giving him a national platform, he is standing to be a councillor in Somerset … it is a local platform looking at parking, sorting out bins … I have much higher thresholds for what it takes to be a Conservative MP.”
Amid the backlash, Bonehill-Paine confirmed on Wednesday that although he would no longer run for election, he would accept an invitation to become a Tory Party adviser on extremism.
In a statement posted to social media, he said: “I know that my previous actions continue to cause pain in the Jewish community. I had thought that getting involved in my local council and working hard for my community was a good way to show how much I have changed and that I want to give something back.
“I realise now that the fight against antisemitism is something that I actually need to do more of, I need to show the Jewish community how much I regret my previous actions and how hard I will work to fight to help destroy antisemitism and rebuild trust."
He went on: “I was 21 when antisemitism became my whole way of seeing the world. Because of my abhorrent behaviour I was convicted, imprisoned and deservedly punished. Since leaving prison, I have now spent years fighting antisemitism and extremism.
“Rehabilitation does not erase what I did. But it does give me a sense of duty. While I cannot change my past, I can warn others away from the same destructive path. I know how this ideology works because I lived inside it.
“I also know that if I stand as a council candidate, other political parties will spend all their time focusing on my past rather than the work I'm doing today, or even fighting antisemitism in their own midst.
“Rather than standing as a local council candidate, I believe that my experience is better used supporting Kemi Badenoch in her ongoing mission to combat the antisemitism and extremism that is dividing our nation.
“I have therefore informed the party of my decision to withdraw from next year’s council election and Kemi has instead offered that I become an adviser to the Conservative Party’s Culture and Integration Commission, specifically focusing on how young men become radicalised."
Bonehill-Paine was jailed in 2016, after he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment against Labour peer Luciana Berger, who is Jewish.
Berger had criticised his selection, saying Bonehill-Paine should not "have any role in public life – because of both his racism and his view of women”.
She told the BBC: “There’s a big difference between going back into society and teaching others possibly about what you did and why it was wrong, to making the leap to standing for public office.
“I think there’s a massive distinction there and this is not just one-off hurty words. This is a man that engaged and indulged in a sustained campaign, not just against me, but many others.”
Bonehill-Paine is the man behind the viral satirical website the Crewkerne Gazette. The page, which has more than 40,000 followers on X and more than 50,000 on YouTube, features AI-generated videos depicting various real-life politicians, including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Badenoch, shadow home secretary Chris Philp, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
