The short version
- Joshua Bonehill-Paine has been chosen as a Conservative candidate for the Crewkerne South district in Somerset despite a history of far-right activism and criminal convictions.
- Critics from Reform UK accuse party leader Kemi Badenoch of hypocrisy regarding her anti-antisemitism pledges, while internal tensions rise over the exclusion of centrist members.
- Bonehill-Paine claims his past offenses are legally spent and argues he now works to counter extremism, stating that local party officials are fully aware of his background.
The Conservative Party has selected Joshua Bonehill-Paine as its candidate for the upcoming Somerset council election in the new Crewkerne South district. The decision has drawn immediate attention due to Bonehill-Paine’s extensive history with far-right extremism and multiple criminal convictions, including charges related to antisemitic harassment and neo-Nazi activities. His selection occurs against a backdrop of significant internal restructuring within the party under leader Kemi Badenoch, who has recently emphasized a break from traditional Tory centrism.
Bonehill-Paine previously led the National British Resistance, a far-right organization, and served prison time in 2015 for posting antisemitic material online. He was also convicted in 2016 for racially aggravated harassment directed at then-Labour MP Luciana Berger, involving abusive messages on his blog. Additional convictions include assaulting a police officer, burglary of a police station, and malicious communications linked to an anti-Islam hoax that resulted in death threats against pub owners in Leicester. These legal records form the basis of current criticism regarding his candidacy.
In recent years, Bonehill-Paine gained public visibility through the Crewkerne Gazette, a satirical online series featuring AI-generated clips. While the content often targets Labour and Reform UK, it has portrayed Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch favorably. This digital presence contributed to earlier controversy when Conservative chief whip Rebecca Harris shared one of his videos depicting Badenoch and shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy in a gangster film parody. Bonehill-Paine stated that local party leadership supports him and is fully informed about his past.
Reform UK condemned the selection as hypocritical, arguing it undermines Badenoch’s claims of combating antisemitism and revitalizing the party with new candidates. The move coincides with reports that Badenoch is enforcing strict ideological alignment among prospective MPs, including requirements to oppose net zero targets and withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. This hardline approach has led to resignations from centrist groups within the party, such as the One Nation Conservative Network, raising questions about the direction of Tory politics under current leadership.
Sources behind this briefing
Go to the original reporting
- The Guardian World↗Former neo-Nazi activist selected as Tory candidate for Somerset council election
